Defenders key to Lions’ rise in D-II
Seniors McPeak, Carson do dirty work to help team
LINCOLN — Playing defense in boys lacrosse is fun.
Defensemen have the opportunity to hit their opponents and when that fails, they can use their stick to exact their pound of flesh.
Playing defense in girls lacrosse can be down-right frustrating.
Any type of body contact is considered a foul and the only ways to get the ball away from the opponent is with a stick check or by simply hoping you stay in front of your opponent for long enough that she either loses the ball or gets rid of it.
“To play defense in lacrosse you just have to kind of mirror your opponent with your stick,” said Lincoln central defender Gabriela Carson, who will study environmental science at Brown in the fall. “Wherever their stick goes, your’s has to go the same way. You always have to be on your toes and push them to a side. I never really liked playing defense until this year because now I’m in the center. It’s more of a challenge.”
“I started playing soccer first and defending is kind of my first instinct,” affable senior Meagan McPeak said. “Gaby taught me how to play because I didn’t play until last season. There’s lots of rules you have to pay attention to, but I really like to play defense better.”
Outside of a stretch from late in the first half to the first three minutes of the second, the duo, combined with goalie Jannamarie O’Neil, dominat- ed visiting Classical Monday morning at Ferguson Field. The Lions picked up their second straight Division II victory, as sisters Leila and Lily Loparto combined for 14 goals in an 18-8 victory over the visiting Purple.
Lincoln (3-3 Division II) certainly has enough firepower to compete with the top teams in the division, but they’ll succeed against the elite teams if they play defense the way they did for long stretches of Monday’s contest.
“Some of my better players play defense,” Lincoln coach Susan Renzi said. “Most of the girls who play defense also play basketball; – like No. 5, Kate Swanson – and it’s a lot of the same things. You play zone in basketball and we play zone. It’s a lot of the same ideas about staying in front of the person with the ball.”
Classical (0-3 Division II) received five goals from junior attack Ellie Finigan, while Lyndsay Goldstein and junior Rose Callaran each added a goal. The Purple never led in the game, but they did score four straight goals to cut Lincoln’s lead to 8-6 just 90 seconds into the second half.
The run mirrored the run Chariho went on Friday after falling behind by six goals. Renzi called a timeout after Classical made it 10-7 and refocused her team.
“We were making bad passes and the kids weren’t playing their game,” Renzi said. “That is what happens when they play a team isn’t as good as them. They seem to play to the level of their competition. They play better when they play the better teams because they know they can’t get away with the sloppy plays.”
Goals from the Loparto sisters and sophomore attack Sadie LaFleur (three goals and two assists) increased the lead to 14-7 just over a minute after the timeout.
The Lions started Monday’s game the way they started Friday’s win over Chariho; with a barrage of goals against senior goalie Morgan Monteiro. It took sophomore Lily Jacobson just a minute to open the scoring and Leila Loparto (seven goals and two assists) followed with a tally of her own.
After Finigan cut her team’s deficit in half, the Lions responded with four straight goals to open up a 6-1 advantage. The lead was 8-4 at halftime and just 8-6 when the Lions scored 10 of the game’s final 13 goals.
“You just have to remind yourself you can’t take any team for granted,” Carson, a captain, said. “You can’t get into a rhythm of just sitting back and watching the offense work, we have to be more of a unit. We have to have more communication with the midfielders and us defenders need to stay on our toes.”
Lincoln will face its most difficult test of the young season Wednesday night to face an undefeated East Greenwich team which competed in Division I last season.