LYNN — St. Mary’s girls lacrosse team hosted Bishop Fenwick Wednesday night under the lights at Manning Field. The Crusaders (15-2) returned home to Peabody with a 6-2 win against the Spartans (6-8).
Fenwick relied on its star senior, Molly Sullivan, who scored the first four goals of the game.
Talk about toughness. On Sullivan’s second goal, she took a stick to the face as she was shooting, but absorbed the blow and scored.
“She had four of our six goals, she’s our center, and she takes the draw. She plays on the strong-side elbow in our zone and she’s really the center of the team,” said Fenwick Coach Jill Robinson. “She’s everywhere. She has such a strong shot and a great lacrosse mind. She’s a really strong player.”
St. Mary’s had its chances. The hosts began each half with the majority of possession – which led to quality shots – but Fenwick’s Courtney McKenzie (12 saves) stood tall between the pipes.
“I think she had three or four fastbreak saves, which is crazy when someone is shooting point-blank at you,” Robinson said. “She’s a senior and has been a four-year starter and will be playing at Coker University (South Carolina).”
With 28.9 seconds remaining in the first half, Fenwick ran a set to perfection. From behind the net, senior captain Kiley Bloom found a cutting Breanna Genzale, who converted her shot to make it 5-0.
St. Mary’s got a goal back in the third quarter when Shaye Denning (2 goals) got the ball and showed off her speed, running in the open field yet showing her composure in front of the net.
Robinson was pleased with how her team performed from start to finish. She specifically pointed to the defense, which was suffocating the Spartans all night.
“It was a really great performance,” Robinson said. “Our defense, tonight, held them to only 12 shots on net total, so that’s great. We were just really connected tonight and felt that we wanted it more.”
It’s not easy to win 15 of 17 games, but Robinson again pointed to her defense – one that hasn’t allowed more than seven goals in any game this season.
“No one has broken double-digits on us,” she said. “We play a zone defense and in girls lacrosse, it’s a big team defense. Instead of just relying on one girl to go one-on-one, we rely on all seven of our players to protect that eight and not let them in.”
St. Mary’s travels to Lexington Thursday for a 4:30 p.m. game, while Fenwick visits Danvers at 5:30 p.m. the same evening.
