The lady Dragons of lacrosse are maturing, slowly but surely and part of that growth included a couple of wins last week against North Harrison, 10-5, and Farmington, 14-9.
Head Coach Bill Booth said the girls are learning some of the basic things and that the conditioning provided this year has begun to show.
‘Our girls learned to hold on to a lead and take control of the game in the last half of the second half,? he said. ‘We’ve done a better job of closing it out in the second half. I think the girls have worked hard and their ability to hold on to a lead has really come through in these last two games.?
Booth pointed to a number of up and coming players including junior Emily Hendrix who is leading the team offensively with 20 goals and three assists on the season, senior Malory Demott who has 18 goals with one assist, Rachel Sech who has 17 goals with one assist and senior Kaileen Tweedie who has 13 goals with three assists.
Defensively, Booth mentioned senior Madison Barry who has stepped up as a leader to the defensive players, sophomore Nicole Cox who is the only sophomore and has exceeded expectations and senior Marta Davila who communicates well and takes charge aggressively.
Junior goalies Amanda Vaughn and Tiffany Smrtnik also got special mention from Booth. Vaughn managed 13 saves against Farmington with a save percentage of about 70 percent. Smrtnik did nearly the same against North Harrison saving 10 on 19 shots. Booth said 50 percent saves is above average, so ‘both goalies are very talented and we’re happy to have them on the team.?
The lady Dragons sparred against University Liggett on April 28, Bloomfield United on April 30 and will play today, May 2, against Saginaw Heritage. Booth noted University Liggett would be a difficult match as the ‘catholic leagues are always very competitive? and that Bloomfield United would be a tough game.
?(They’re) very good – it’s a division one game for us,? he said. ‘I think they’re ranked in the top ten of the state right now and we’ll have our hands full. Hopefully we can steal this one.?
The team was 4-4 overall before April 28. Booth was adament in mentioning however the JV team’s 7-1 record, adding ‘the future for lacrosse is bright in Lake Orion.?