Bromfield’s girls lacrosse team busted the Algonquin Tomahawks 17-4 at home Tuesday afternoon, handing the team its first loss of the season and securing Bromfield as the team to beat in the Midland Wachusett A League—and perhaps the state.
The Bromfield girls are now firmly in first place, undefeated in their first seven games, including a 16-5 blowout of the Division 1 Natick High School Redhawks on Monday.
Senior Izzy Planchet goes in for a goal. (Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz)
“This has the potential to become a very special season for us,” said Coach David Planchet after Tuesday’s game.
With the girls’ home field at Bromfield School unavailable following its use Saturday as the site of Town Meeting, the game was played on the grassy McCurdy Track field on Lancaster County Road as afternoon temperatures hovered near 80. Players, coaches, and referees were masked, a requirement that is about to change following the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s vote Tuesday to no longer require that masks be worn for outdoor sports.
During the first quarter, the two teams battled for the lead. Bromfield senior Bella Kehoe scored first, two minutes into the game, with a shot to the middle of the net. Her sister, senior Olivia Kehoe, followed up one minute later, with an assist by senior Tallie Dutkewych. But Algonquin fought back and by the end of the first quarter had tied the game, 3-3. Algonquin junior Lucy Rogers scored one more goal for the Tomahawks at the top of the second quarter, but that was their last of the day. From then on, Bromfield’s defense shut down Algonquin’s offense as Trojan attackers racked up 14 additional goals.
Senior Bella Kehoe charges toward the Algonquin goal.
Top scorers for Bromfield were seniors Izzy Katter and Liv Kehoe, with four goals apiece, but six other players contributed to the lopsided win: seniors Izzy Planchet and Bella Kehoe, with three goals; junior Megan Hoggins with two; and Kristen Podgorni, Annabel Ashe, and Ashley Sampson with one apiece. Algonquin’s Rogers scored three times for her team; the team’s fourth goal was scored by sophomore Ava Wilde with an assist from sophomore Gigi Rhind.
Bromfield outshot Algonquin 31-10. Algonquin’s senior goalie Nola Garland was credited with 10 saves, Bromfield senior goalie Peyton VanDorpe with four. The two teams had near equal numbers of turnovers, but Bromfield did better at recovering ground balls on the pitted McCurdy field, 31-21.
Coach Planchet had praise for his team’s defense. “Those guys do all the little things that the stat book doesn’t show, right?” he said, noting that all four starting backfielders and their backups are newbies. “I couldn’t be more proud of them. A lot of those kids were soccer kids, and they’re tough, and they’re gritty.”
Bromfield’s record now stands at 7-0 as it heads into the remaining weeks of the spring season. The team has beaten every opponent by double digits and scored a total of 124 goals, twice as many as second place Algoinquin. The team is scheduled for a rematch against Groton-Dunstable at McCurdy Track on Thursday, May 20, at 5 p.m.
