BEVERLY — As much as good teams thrive on adrenaline and energy, it’s possible to be too hyped. Especially against a pesky league rival.
Beverly’s girls lacrosse team had a case of the jitters through three quarters Thursday afternoon against Masconomet, but dumped their nerves and played arguably their best quarter of the season in the fourth to win, 10-6, under overcast clouds at Frank Forti Field.
“We were just playing panicked — trying too hard to do the exact right thing,” said senior captain Joselyn Silva, who scored four goals, including the game-winner with 6:06 to play. “We took a deep breath, had fun with the game and took what was there instead of trying to force something that wasn’t.”
The Panthers (2-1) trailed by one entering the last 12 minutes before scoring five times while blanking the Chieftains (0-2).
Senior captain Maddy Reynolds was outstanding in goal, making three of her nine saves over the last four minutes of play. With Beverly ahead, 7-6, she stopped Masconomet sniper Violet Malinowski and then, when the Chieftains recovered the loose ball, denied a would-be tying goal on a wicked cutter by Grace Blaney to preserve the lead.
“I was thinking ‘I can’t not save this ball.’ That’s always my mentality, and in those tight-knit situations its really useful,” said Reynolds. “I do a lot of visualizing before shots. That helps me see the ball and make sure it gets saved.”
Going down the other way, senior Sasha Miller scored her fourth goal on a free position shot to give Beverly its first multi-goal lead of the day with 3:20 left. Silva and senior captain Lindsay Kaszynski added insurance goals as the Panthers seemed inspired by Reynolds’ work in the cage.
“We’re so lucky to have her,” Silva said of Reynolds.
It was tied 4-4 at halftime and the Chieftains were in control after three at 6-5, thanks to third quarter tallies by Caleigh Fates and Malinowski, whose fourth goal of the game put Masco ahead with 49 seconds before the horn. The Panthers held off another Chieftain charge before the quarter ended before finding their sea legs in the fourth.
“We said, ‘We have to have the memory of a goldfish here: wipe out the first three quarters and play the game we know how to play,’” Beverly head coach Courtney McKallagat said. “Once we got into our rhythm, we played some nice, pretty lacrosse — and that made it easier to continue doing that.”
Masconomet was hampered by a late penalty, but got a great effort in net from Sophia Carson. The Chieftains forced Beverly into a lot of rushed, off-target shots over the first three quarters, but had a tougher time against a more patient opponent in the fourth.
“I take it on myself because we’ve spent so much time on zone defense that we didn’t work as much on defense inside that eight-foot position,” said Masco coach Jalen Aho, whose team jumped ahead by two goals in the first quarter before the two squads began trading goals in the middle portion of the action.
“Offensively, I was really happy with the way we shared the ball and the way we attacked,” Aho added.
Beverly captain Charlotte Miller (“the most level-headed player we have who keeps everybody else calm,” McKallagat said) had a tremendous game on defense.
The Panthers have a lot of new faces in the starting lineup who are putting in the work to develop blind trust and chemistry with their teammates, the coach added.
“We found that rhythm today,” Reynolds noted, “and as the season keeps going along we’ll all fit together like puzzle pieces.”
After the Panthers fell behind, 2-0, it was Silva that got them going with a coupe of quick strikes to give her team the lead by the end of the first quarter. She also won eight draw controls to keep momentum on the side of the Orange-and-Black.
“That No. 1 is a heck of a player,” Aho said of Silva. “We doubled her and she still lit us up.”