CHELMSFORD — The Beverly High girls lacrosse team put together a school record 18-game winning streak this spring by scoring a boatload of goals, used a suffocating defense, and getting big stops in net when they needed them most.
All three of those things manifested themselves Tuesday night at at Simonian Field … only it wasn’t the Panthers doing them.
Host Chelmsford, the second-ranked team in the Division 1 playoffs, turned the tables on the visiting Orange-and-Black, using their skill and speed to send the visitors home for the season with a 16-6 loss.
Beverly (18-2), which hadn’t been defeated since dropping its season opener on March 31, was averaging nearly 14 goals a game and had allowed only one opponent to score double digits against them. But the Lions were by far the strongest squad they had faced and jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, never looking back.
It was 9-3 at halftime and 13-5 after three quarters. Although the Panthers never stopped trying to battle their way back, the hosts simply would not allow it.
“They’re a phenomenal team. The speed at which they’re executing is just not the speed at which we’re used to having to defend, and that builds a little bit of nerves and causes a few extra turnovers,” Beverly head coach Courtney McKallagat said of Chelmsford.
“The fact we kept it close for a while says a lot about our girls,” she continued. “Yeah, we couldn’t get closer than 4 or 5 goals, but every time they surged, we surged back. I think it speaks to them as people; they’re never going to give up on something or each other.”
Two freshmen, midfielder Marisa Hutton (2 goals) and attack Gwen Jones (goal, assist), helped pace the attack for Beverly.
Junior attack Cameron Koloski also scored once and had one assist; classmate Sasha Miller netted her 62nd goal of the season (and 101st point, both of which led BHS); sophomore mid Ashley Wallace also had a goal; and single assists went to freshman middie Meghan Potter and junior middie Annabelle Miller.
Madeleine Reynolds, Beverly’s four-year starter in goal and the Player of the Year in the Northeastern Conference, made 14 saves in her final high school game.
Chelmsford (15-4) received a huge performance from senior attack Maddie Callahan as the captain scored five times and assisted on four others. KK McDonald and Anna Bierwirth each had three goals and one assist, with Merrimack Valley Conference Player of the Year Kat Craig also netting three markers.
The Panthers will graduate five seniors — defender Addie Shephard and captains Morgan Linskey and Charlotte Miller on defense, Madz LeBlanc at attack, and Reynolds in net. They only lost 19 times in their careers and captured back-to-back NEC crowns the last two springs.
McKallagat had heartfelt thoughts on all five.
“I was talking to a team parent a few weeks ago, saying I have very a very specific memory of each of them,” she said. “I’ve coached most of them since youth (lacrosse), and Addie joined us last year and fit in right away. Madz started playing in eighth grade and finished this year 30/30 (34 goals, 32 assists). Morgan was as close with our attack as she was with our defense. Charlotte and Maddie have led us for two years (as team captains), and Addie has one of the best defensive brains on the team.
“They’re all natural leaders who pulled us up and raised the level of everything that’s expected of our program, on and off the field and in school. The kids just carry themselves differently, because that’s what we demand of them. We hold each other accountable.”