2007 Girls Varsity Lacrosse

What began as an overcast, dreary day deteriorated into a significant April snow storm.  Both teams were grateful for Exeter's new turf field, and the game ended in a 9-9 tie.  There was no chance for playing overtime due to conditions, despite the desire of the players.  The Governors controlled the first half, scoring six goals to Exeter's three. 

The second half was quite a different story with Exeter scoring six to only one for the Governors until the last minute and a half.  Exeter lead 9-7, but failed to win the draws and had difficulty getting good defensive positioning on the very slippery field.  Two quick last minute goals finished out the game.

 Rebecca Snelling had her first start as a varsity goalie and had a respectable 57% save average.  Goals were scored by Kriti Dave, Laura Shen, Amanda Roberts, Kate Broderick and Maria Brandifino with one assist by Caroline Downer.  The strong second half defense was lead by Ingrid Oelschlager and Cara Pearson and new varsity player Sue Truelove.  Submitted by Coach Kathy Nekton
 

     Saturday's game against Groton was played on turf surrounded by mountains of snow left over from Thursday's storm.  Limited practice space outdoors and indoors may explain the difficulty the team has had getting in to a rhythm in the first half of the games.  Initially Groton dominated the game with a 5-1 score until the last eight minutes of the half when Exeter's offense put in 5 goals. Groton answered with two goals of their own and at the half the score was 7-6.
     Exeter adjusted their one on one match ups in the second half and kept Groton to just four goals in the second half including only one by Groton standout Mauntz.  Eight different Exeter players contributed to the scoring and the final outcome was a 13-11 tally.  Strong midfield play was key to ball control in the second half and added pressure on Groton's players resulted in several turnovers. Submitted by Coach Kathy Nekton

Wednesday's game was played under sunny skies, a rarity for the 2007 spring season.  Exeter went out to an early lead controlling the first draw and scoring on a fast break.  This appeared to be the pattern for the game until at 4-0, Winsor put in their first goal.  PEA answered with four more and when the half time buzzer sounded the score stood at 10-2. 

Winsor seemed to be determined to stay in the game and continued to press on defense. Exeter's focus for the second half was to try and execute set plays and create scoring opportunities from a variety of options.  Seven players accounted for the final 14 goals and four assists.  Pressure at midfield stopped any kind of transition for Winsor and the Exeter's defense was successful with a one on one style of play.  Goalies Rebecca Snelling had a 50% save stat and Allison Arnal finished the game with a 62%. Submitted by Coach Kathy Nekton
 
 
 

Game time on Saturday was moved to 3:30 PM in order to accommodate students taking standardized testing.  Northfield Mount Hermon appeared on the field just 15 minutes before the start time.  Unfortunately for them, the long bus ride and quick warm up may have influenced the outcome of the game.  The final score was 18-7 in Exeter's favor.  PEA's attack continued to take charge of the field with ten players accounting for the goals and assists tabulated. 
 
The team has a break on Wednesday.  The New Hampshire high schools are no longer allowed to play the Academy and consequently the schedule suffered.  North Yarmouth public school in Maine is making a "southern" trip while on school vacation and an additional game was added on Friday, April 20th.  The team travels to Milton on Saturday, so the end of the week will add new challenges for everyone. Submitted by Coach Kethy Nekton

Exeter traveled to Milton Academy on a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon.  Despite a late arrival due to a missing school bus, Exeter took the field ready to play.  A tough contest was anticipated and indeed some very good lacrosse was enjoyed by those that could watch.  Milton went out to a 3-0 lead and Exeter did not find it's scoring rhythm until the last eleven minutes of the first half.  Three quick goals within a minute and a half tied the game.  The rest of the half, Milton and Exeter traded goals and when the buzzer sounded the teams were tied 6-6.  The beginning of the second half looked identical to the first until the last ten minutes.  At that point Exeter was no longer able to control the draws and Milton drove to their goal isolating a single defensive player or drawing a double and finding a free teammate.  Exeter was not able to generate enough attack play, sometimes throwing the ball away when pressed by an aggressive Milton defense. The final score was 17-11. Exeter left the field knowing they had played an excellent team and determined to solve the offensive and defensive gaps before the next game. Submitted by Coach Kathy Nekton

Hyde School traveled down to Exeter from Maine on Wednesday and found the depth of PEA's team a bit overwhelming.  Exeter dominated on both ends of the field and exerted such pressure defensively that the ball seldom made it out of Big Red's offensive end.  Hyde remained focused and worked hard to counter a variety of moves coming out of Exeter's settled play, but once again Exeter's ability to score goals was generated by thirteen different people. Submitted by Coach Kathy Nekton
 

Saturday, May 12 proved to be ideal lacrosse weather.  Tabor Academy traveled to Exeter from Marion, Mass and both teams expected a good contest.  Exeter scored first on a fast break from the center of the field executed with precise passing just two minutes into the game.  Not to be outdone, Tabor duplicated Exeter's attack and took the ball directly to net from an Exeter turnover and scored on a 3 v 2 offensive set.

Both defensive units had difficulty doubling hard drives and the goals came on aggressive moves inside the meter fan.  The score stood at 11-7 at the half.  The second half was characterized by a stepped up pressure on the ball by Exeter.  Constant substitution meant fresh players could continue to run with Tabor's attack.  Continued doubles all over the field caused many Tabor turnovers.  Exeter's offensive set ran well with the addition of 7 more goals. Nine players contributed in that effort with goals or assists.  Tabor scored 3 goals for a final 18-8 total. Submitted by Coach Kathy Nekton

It was a frustrating day for Exeter Varsity Girls' lacrosse.  The bus to Deerfield came late leaving very little warm up time before the game.  Conditions were poor due to days of heavy rain and the grass field made for problematic footing.  Deerfield's 'girls were more than ready to avenge their overtime loss of the previous year and scored twice in the first five minutes of the game.  Exeter finally answered with a goal ten minutes into the game.  Both teams played steady denial defense causing countless turn over at both ends of the field.  The half time score of 3-3 indicated the type of game that was unfolding.  Continued pressure defense all over the field meant as one player put it, "We were doing field sprints the entire game."  Exeter had two goals called back for crease violations just to add to the sense that things were not going PEA's way.  Exeter went up by two goals but could not maintain possession and Deerfield tied the game with seven and a half minutes to go.  They put in their final goal and with five minutes left Exeter had the opportunity to control the final minutes, but could not find the net. Submitted by Coach Kathy Nekton