Molly Dobratz leads an offensive attack during a lopsided loss to Glastonbury.
By BRIAN JENNINGS
STAFF WRITER
The Lady Knights rumbled through last week with a blowout and a one-goal loss, followed by a taste of a blowout in a lopsided loss. The girls lacrosse team experienced a roller coaster last week in their least productive week of the season. But Southington coach Jill Pomposi isn’t ready to circle the wagons.
“This isn’t the end of our season,” said the coach. “We’re not totally defeated and deflated. We haven’t given up. We know that you can’t win them all.”
At this time last year, the Knights were in a totally different position, staring at postseason elimination with only two wins under their belts. But with a qualification for the Class L tournament already out of the way, the team isn’t burdened by that same postseason pressure they faced last year.
“That’s also helping to keep us positive,” the coach said. “We’re not hanging by our feet having to win four out of the next five games. We’re really happy and proud that we don’t have that position again like we did last year.”
The Knights will look to get back on track this week when they fight for better seeding in the Class L tournament with a road test at Hall (6-4) on Tuesday, May 9 for their lone game of the week. Southington is currently 8-3 overall.
Win at Rockville
MAY 1—The Knights began the week by earning their second-straight win with a 19-2 triumph at Rockville on Monday. Southington led, 13-0, at halftime. Ten different Knights scored in the game.
“We were the stronger attacking team, but we didn’t just rely on one or two people,” said Pomposi. “I had some defenders coming up and we focused on working it around. It was nice that we were able to put situation stuff that we said we wanted to do recently into the game.”
Jessie Pesce (5 shots) paced the offense with four goals. Nicky Doran (4 shots) backed Pesce with three goals. Molly Dobratz and Brooke Lynch (1 assist) recovered three groundballs each. Addie Kilgore (1 assist) won six draws.
Julia Wells saved three shots in the cage. Southington took 33 shots on goal.
Loss at South Windsor
MAY 3—Southington’s two-game winning streak was snapped a couple days later after the Knight fell by two points, 16-14, at South Windsor.
“It was a good game,” said Pomposi. “It was back and forth and evenly matched. But there was a brief five or six-minute spurt where we got too comfortable and let up the pressure a little bit, and they capitalized in that span.”
The Knights led by a goal, 9-8, at halftime, but a 9-2 run midway through the second half helped the Bobcats seal the win. A pair of Southington goals came within 1:07 to go in the contest, including a score with a second remaining.
Sara Mafale (11 shots) marshaled the offense with six goals. Sydney Brault (3 shots) and Morgan Raymond (6 shots) contributed with a pair of goals each. Wednesday’s loss was Raymond’s first game back after missing five games with an injury.
Raymond also won 11 draws. Lauren Graef recovered three ground balls.
Wells saved 13 shots in the cage. Southington took 32 shots on goal.
Loss at Glastonbury
MAY 6—The Knights rounded out the week by suffering their second-straight loss after falling, 20-2, at Glastonbury on Saturday. The Knights trailed, 15-0, at halftime and finished with nine shots on goal.
“The second half was more of the way that we wanted to be playing the whole game,” said Pomposi. “We let them start the game and dictate what they wanted to do the entire first half.”
Raymond (3 shots) scored Southington’s two goals, won four draws, and recovered three ground balls. Mary Claire Brick (5) and Rachel Strillacci (1) combined for six saves in the cage, both splitting halves. Wells did not play, due to an injury she sustained in the South Windsor game.
“We got it down on their attacking end a few times and didn’t capitalize on it,” the coach said. “They had missed opportunities, and we didn’t capitalize on those either.”
For this week’s box scores, click here: (southingtonobserver.com/2017/05/10/weekly-scoreboard-for-the-may-12-edition). To contact sports writer Brian Jennings, email him at BJennings@SouthingtonObserver.com.