Warriors make quick work of the Cougars
Leonard has three goals, two others with two each
In a contest involving rival squads from Charles County that boast far more underclassmen than seniors, the host La Plata High School girls lacrosse team gained control of the game early and was never threatened by visiting Thomas Stone en route to an 8-2 victory on Wednesday in a Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Potomac Division contest.
LaPlata (3-2, 2-0 Potomac) got three goals in the first 16 minutes from sophomore Morgan Leonard and senior Hope Sine and sophomore Madison Curtis each added two goals to lead the Warriors to the handy tally. Stone (0-6, 0-1) got one goal each from Victoria Sisson and Danielle Friason.
From the outset of Wednesday’s game, LaPlata gained the upper hand at its most critical juncture — the draw control. Sophomore Kaitlyn Fitzimmons got the better of Stone’s Igura Rehman to win most of the draws,
occasionally catching the lofted ball in flight. Fitzimmons had one goal and an assist, but her main contribution occurred at the draw.
“The key is just to be stronger than you opponent,” said Fitzsimmons, who also played soccer for the school last fall. “You just have to be ready for the draw and faster and stronger than your opponent. We executed really well on offense today. We’re really looking forward to facing McDonough on Friday (a road contest scheduled for 6 p.m.). They’re our main rival.”
While La Plata only has five seniors on the roster and one of them is currently sidelined with an injury, Stone has only three seniors and a bevy of underclassmen. Their youth and inexperience showed early on Wednesday when Cougars turnovers enabled the
Warriors to get several easy goals in transition, but Stone coach Richard Callahan was optimistic about the future.
“We’re really young,” Callahan said. “I have a lot of juniors and sophomores playing right now. The best part is they’re learning. They’re willing to learn. We don’t have a lot of experience, but it’s something that we’ll have to play through.”
Leonard tallied her hat trick in the first 16 minutes, twice slicing through the Cougars defense without hesitation. Sine scored her first of two goals midway through the first half to give the hosts a 3-0 lead. Then after Sisson provided the lone tally of the half for the Cougars with 6 minutes 43 seconds remaining, Curtis notched her first goal of the day.
Midway through the second half, Stone got on the board first when Friason scored to narrow the Cougars’ deficit to 5-2. But La Plata countered two minutes later when Fitzsimmons
notched her only goal of the day and Curtis and Sine followed in the late stages of the second half with their second goals each.
“I definitely think we have a really good team this year,” said Sine, who plays for the Southern Maryland Revolution and plans to attain a nursing degree in college. “Kaitlyn does a great job at the draw. She sets the tone for our offense. Morgan is really good. Now we’re definitely looking forward to facing McDonough on Friday.”
La Plata coach Wendy Walston also credited her defense, which enabled goalie Hallie Redding to limit the Cougars to only two goals while recording seven saves. Her counterpart, Bre Sawall, was nearly as effective posting nine saves while getting considerably less support from her defenders.
Stone is scheduled to host North Point at 5:30 p.m. today.