The Bromfield girls lacrosse team lost 7–6 to the Groton-Dunstable Crusaders Saturday in the second overtime period of a hard-fought battle for the Central-West District 2 championship. The game was played under cloudy skies at Foley Stadium in Worcester before a small crowd of enthusiastic fans from both schools.
The Crusaders jumped to an early 2–0 lead in the opening minutes of the game, but Bromfield’s Trojan girls battled back with their characteristically patient offense, first tying the score at 2–2 on goals by senior Sophia Turchetta and junior Meaghan Parlee and then jumping to a 4–2 lead in the final moments of the first half on goals by junior Kaeli Armstrong and Parlee.
Kaeli (“K Boo”) Armstrong (No. 7) looks to see if her shot hit its mark. (Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz)
“We’re a patient team,” Coach David Planchet said in a postgame conference. “We move the ball around and try to find seams in the defense and then attack.”
In the second half, Turchetta and sophomore Chandler Farley, with an assist from Turchetta, added two more goals to the team’s total, in spite of the absence of Parlee, who was forced to leave the game after drawing two penalties for dangerous plays. But as the clock ran down, the Crusaders added three more goals to their score, and then, in the final 30 seconds of the game, took control of a loose ball and raced downfield toward the Trojan goal. There, with just 3 seconds remaining, Groton-Dunstable sophomore Leah Garside, with an assist from senior Sara Walsh, tied the game at 6–6 with a shot past Bromfield sophomore goalie Emily Podgorni, taking the contest into overtime.
Double overtime
Neither team scored during the first 3-minute overtime period, but halfway through the second, Groton-Dunstable sophomore Eleanor Eisenklam got off the winning shot, bringing the final score to 7–6, Groton-Dunstable, ending Bromfield’s season and sending the Crusaders to the District 2 state championship.
Planchet complimented Groton-Dunstable goalie Maria Antonellis, who was credited with 11 saves in a game in which Bromfield players were credited with 23 shots on goal, nearly half of which came from Turchetta. Bromfield goalie Podgorni had eight saves.
Defensive player Lindsey Hoggins runs the ball up and looks for a pass.
Planchet said that the team’s attack had been blunted by the absence of Parlee, the Trojan’s number-two scorer. “When one of your star players fouls out early in the second half and you’re asking a seventh-grader to step into her place, what can you do?” asked Planchet. But the team had done “a heck of a job,” he said. “I’m very proud of them.”
With graduation, the team bids farewell to its top scorer and national record holder Sophia Turchetta, as well its entire defense, including Sarah vandeVaart, Kelsey L’Ecuyer, Lindsey Hoggins, and Maddie Ragno.
The last time Bromfield met Groton-Dunstable was in April, in a game that the Trojans won 7–6. Coincidentally, the final score of Saturday’s game was the same, only this time it was the Crusaders, not the Trojans, who were victorious.
