The Girls Lacrosse team faced off against King Phillip in the first round of tournament for the second time this season, on Tuesday, May 29. The Rebels had beat KP in their previous matchup in the regular season, but did not take that for granted, as KP is one of the better teams in the league.
The start of the game was not in the Rebels favor as KP scored two goals within the first five minutes of the start. Then Walpole turned the game around and went on a five-goal scoring streak. Their first goal was a pass from defender and senior captain Adrianna Frattasio to junior Jen McDonald who scored. McDonald also scored the Rebel’s second goal, tying the score at 2-2. Senior captain Hope Kelly received a pass and scored another goal for the Rebels, giving them the lead. Junior Michaela Tosone took the ball into the circle for yet another goal. KP finally managed another scoring chance but the ball bounced off the post and missed, as goalie and senior captain Erin Nelligan saved the rebound shot and passed it to Frattasio. Frattasio ran the ball down the field and scored a goal, despite her position as a defender. KP then called a time-out to regroup and revive their struggling team.
Coming off of their time-out, KP took the ball and scored, which was answered by a goal by Walpole’s junior Nina Tobin, making the score 6-3, in favor of the Rebels. With eight minutes left in the first half, KP scored their fourth goal of the game, and won the ensuing draw, but the ball was intercepted by Frattasio, who ran it down the field and passed it to sophomore Bri Doherty who scored a goal for Walpole. Junior Seana Cofsky scored Walpole’s eighth goal shortly following Doherty’s. Kelly made another attempt to score, but her shot was blocked by KP’s goalie. Cofsky then shot the ball past the goalie for the last goal of the half, despite another great attempt by Cofsky that was blocked by the KP goalie. The score was 9-4 at halftime, the Rebels leading comfortably.
The second half started slowly with goalies on both teams making saves, not allowing any goals for the first few minutes. On the Rebel’s defense, Frattasio received a yellow card, taking her out of the game for two minutes, and leaving the Rebel’s down a player. KP took advantage of the Rebel’s loss and scored a goal. The Rebels would not be hindered for long though, as Cofsky recieved a pass from junior Erin Richardson and scored another goal. Doherty tried to follow with another goal but her shot hit off the post and was caught by KP. KP ran the ball to the other end of the field but the shot was saved by Nelligan who passed the ball off, and the Rebels transitioned it down the field. An attempted shot by Walpole was blocked again by the KP goalie, which allowed KP to bring the ball down and score a goal. The Rebels then had another failed shot attempt, that was answered by KP’s second goal in a row, causing the Rebels to call a time-out.
Following the time-out, things started to turn around once again for the Rebels, as a KP pass was intercepted by Richardson, who ran the ball all the way down the field for a Walpole goal. Back in KP’s offensive end, the Rebels got a shooting space call against them, allowing KP get another goal, making the score 12-8.
When KP received possesion of the ball again, and tried to shoot, Nelligan made a save and passed the ball off to her teammates, who carried the ball down the field. Misfortune struck the Rebels once again when the referees gave another yellow card to Walpole, this time on Tosone. Once again, KP took advantage of the Rebel’s loss and scored a goal. This goal prompted the Rebels to call their second time-out, to ensure KP would not take the lead. There were no more goals scored on either side, and the Rebels won the game with a final score of 12-9.
This win pushed the Rebels ahead in tournament, and their next opponent will be Needham, a team they lost to in the regular season. With the first round past them, Walpole is preparing for their expectedly difficult upcoming game against Needham. Sophomore Michele Lucas said “Needham is ranked number one in the state so we expect the game to be tough.” The Rebels will face Needham on Friday, June 1 to determine if they will move on to the third round of tournament.
