Fast heart beats, “#nervous” tweets, and anxious faces— all were abundant as the Walpole Girls Lacrosse team traveled to Falmouth on May 31 for their first tournament game. After having only four returning varsity players and finishing the regular season with a 10-10 record, not much was expected from the Rebels going in to the tournament. Being seeded one spot lower than Falmouth, the Rebels were not the favored team at the start of their first game. After winning and scoring off the first two face-offs, the tables quickly turned to favor the high-spirit and motivated Rebels that were led by three strong and skilled senior captains. These three players’ leadership helped the Rebels keep the lead for the remainder of the game, surprising many by upsetting Falmouth 17-9. Unluckily, the Rebels beat Falmouth only to advance the number-one-seeded Westwood Wolverines on June 3 — a formidable, proven team that has won numerous State Championships.
In the Falmouth game, senior captains Sarah Buckley, who scored four goals and had five assists; Kim Walsh, who scored 3 goals and had one assist; and Cecilia Abely, who had another goal, were the biggest assets to the team’s offense, as well as defense. Without the incessant effort from the three seniors, none of the underclassmen would have felt compelled to work hard for their team. But luckily since the seniors set the bar for them, goals came easily for the Rebels in the Falmouth game. It is no understatement when head coach Timmy Drummey spoke of the seniors as great role-models, as they bred integrity amongst their teammates. Drummey said, “The 3 captains were great leaders on and off the field and did a great job bringing the team together.” The statistics only furthered his point more; the three senior captains had 52 wins in their career, which is a school record.
The remainder of the goals in the Falmouth game were scored by many other members of the Rebel’s offense and midfield. Junior attacker Hope Kelley got two goals, both off assists from Buckley. Midfield sophomores Seana Cofsky, Michaela Tosone, and Erin Richardson collaboratively worked to score a total of six goals, and one more came from freshman center Ashley Waldron. Junior goalie Erin Nelligan, as always, showed off her skill with five saves in the first half, and two more in the second half. In front of Nelligan, was junior newcomer Adrianna Frattasio, who Drummey commended as being a “great defender.” Her man-marking defensive tactics shut down some of Falmouth’s best attackers, so the Rebels could take home the win.
Two days later, the Rebels did not fare as well against the Westwood Wolverines as they did against Falmouth. Right from the beginning, the Wolverines got out to a significant lead by scoring four 4 quick goals in five minutes. It was not that the Rebels came out slow or had no hope in themselves, but that the Warriors were just that good of a team. Walsh slipped in one goal in the fifth minute, but unlike the Falmouth game, goals did not come as quickly thereafter. The Wolverine’s strong defense was a hard match-up for the team’s lead scorer, Buckley, but with the help of her team off of set plays, Buckley managed to get a few goals before the end of the first half. The second half was not an improvement as Richardson scored the only Walpole goal. Nelligan once again set a new career record of saves in a game, with 11 saves total. Although the score board showed a devastating loss of 21-4 for the Rebels, the team played tough.
Having a 500 season, making it to the second round of tournament, and finishing second to Wellesley in the Herget Division of the BSL were all great accomplishments for the Rebels. With just a little heart and hope in each other, the team accomplished and surpassed all the goals they had set for themselves. The team will wrap up the season with their banquet on June 12 at the Walpole Country Club, as they bid adieu to three of the most talented senior athletes that Walpole High has come across. Yet with many of the same players returning, the team is hopeful that next year is an opportunity to achieve even greater success.
