In a back-and-forth battle in Westport, the Sacred Heart Greenwich lacrosse team was unable to stop Greens Farms Academy down the stretch, as the Dragons grabbed the go-ahead goal in the final minute and held on for the 13-12 victory Monday afternoon.
For the Tigers, no one had a better day than Grace Paletta, who ended the day with four goals, two draw controls and two ground balls. Not to be outdone was Ryan Smith, who finished with the hat trick, two draw controls and one ground ball.
The team of Mae Broidy, Samantha Clark, Haley Horn, Charlotte Clark and Grace Flahagan each added one goal for Sacred Heart. Charlotte Clark took home a team-high three draw controls.
In net, Madeline McLane finished with 11 saves.
“It was a very close and competitive game,” Sacred Heart Greenwich head coach Tara Clough said. “Unfortunately our kids have had a very intense few weeks with a lot of game and unfortunately we turned the ball over a lot in the second half. We forced passes that weren’t there and shots that weren’t there.”
A trio of Dragons took home a trio of goals on the day, as Ingrid Backe, Nicole Humphrey and Kate Paliotta each finished with the hat trick. Ashley Humphrey, CC Poli and Ella Murphy chipped in with one goal each.
Between the pipes for GFA was Kelly Vh, who finished with nine saves in the winning effort.
“This is really exciting,” Greens Farms head coach Missy Radin said. “This has been a really incredible first season for me and I am so proud of these girls. They have worked so hard and are playing at such a solid unit that it really shows on the field.”
The contest was close throughout, as no team had more than a three-goal lead at any point of the game.
With the score knotted at four apiece, Sacred Heart ended the half on run that saw them lead the Dragons at the break. During that streak, Paletta netted two of the three goals.
With 5:41 to play in the half, she found the back of the net. A little less than two minutes later it was Grace Flanagan’s turn at finding the back of the net. Finally, with 2:12 to play in the half, it was Paletta again who tallied a goal and helped the Tigers take the 7-4 lead.
However, it didn’t take long for the Dragons to respond, as they started the half with three consecutive goals to tie the score.
Backe got the ball rolling with a goal only 58 seconds into the half. With 21:55 to play in the contest it was Nesi who took home the goal and 35 seconds later Nicole Humphrey tied the contest.
“I think the difference in the second half was that we tried to be very smart and calm and maintain that possession,” Radin said. “We were able to really turn it on when we needed to. The placement of the shots was really important in that second half.”
The win helped Greens Farms improve to 10-1 on the season. On the other side of the ball, Sacred Heart fell to 9-3 overall.
The defeat also gave Sacred Heart its first losing streak of the season. After winning two of its first three to start the year, the Tigers ran off seven consecutive victories. And those wins were against some stiff competition, beating teams like Choate Rosemary Hall and Hotchkiss by one goal and upending Canterbury 15-11.
On Saturday the streak came to an end when Sacred Heart Greenwich fell to cross-town rival Greenwich Academy 12-9.
“The season overall is very compact and we were on a run there with a lot of wins,” Clough said. “We had four games in one week and three in another and finished that one with GA, which is obvious a high-intensity rivalry. Right now we are at a pivotal point in our season and I think we need to get back to playing our game.”
For the Tigers, it’s about resting and getting back to the basics during practice.
“We just need to come up with possession and take care of the ball,” Clough said. “We also need to be able to run our strategies. If we can do that, I think we can be very successful.”
Despite the loss to the Dragons, the Tigers know that it’s a long season and could possibly see Greens Farms again in the Fairchester Athletic Association playoffs in a few short weeks.
“We need to get past these past two games and look forward,” Clough said. “Part of that is my job and the other part is going to come from the kids. We need leadership now.”
