Back in early May of 2021, then senior captain Jordyn Galgay scored 11 goals, which lifted her past the 100 career goal mark in helping the Pelham girls lacrosse team defeat Campbell, 18-5. She accomplished that feat in 35 games.
This past Wednesday, current senior captain and younger sister of Jordyn, Taylor Galgay scored three goals to lead the Pelham girls past Kearsage, 14-2. Those three goals were career numbers 99, 100 and 101 and she accomplished that in about 40 games.
The two sisters are now in the record books at Pelham High.
“Pelham has seen several 100 goal scorers since my return (as head coach) to Pelham in 2016,” said John Fichera. “Taylor and Jordyn both accomplished that milestone in just three seasons as they both lost the 2020 season to COVID. Only Jill Schwab has scored more goals in fewer games.”
Certainly scoring 100-plus goals in a career is an incredible accomplishment, especially in just three years, but it’s also impressive considering the type of offense that the Pythons run.
“Since 2016, we have run a “team-centered” offense. We do not run an offense with the objective of one or two players having the responsibility of scoring all the goals. Taylor has excelled at this style of play,” said the coach. “Her teammates find her in games because she plays attack with her brains, first watching for how the offense and developing and where a weakness might be found in the opponent’s defense. Without a ‘run and gun’ style offense, it’s a wonder Pelham has had 100 goal scorers. The fact Taylor was able to do it in three seasons playing with other talent players around her is a credit to not just her skills, but her cerebral approach to lacrosse.”
Taylor Galgay should be able to add to her career totals especially over the next three games as Pelham (6-4) will battle Campbell (1-9), Trinity (0-7) and Bishop Brady (2-6) before ending the regular season against undefeated Bow (9-0).
DEACON NETS 100TH GOAL
Galgay wasn’t the only local to reach 100 career goals this past week. Over at Whittier Tech, junior Elizabeth Deacon surpassed that mark by scoring four goals in a win over Northeast held on Wednesday night.
“This is my first year as coach and from what I understand, Elizabeth has been a starter since her freshman year,” said Allie Simmons, a former Haverhill High star player. “Elizabeth is very driven. She’s already committed to play at Bridgewater State (in spring of 2025). She’s an excellent student, she does a lot of work in the community and she’s an uplifting player to all of her teammates. She is motivationally driven with everything she does.”
One of the many ways that Deacon excels on the field is “penalty shots” or called “8-meter shots.”
“She has a great shot and she’s very attack minded. She’s always looks to feeding the ball to her teammates and she also makes great cuts. Whenever she’s given an 8-meter shot, she hits the back of the net almost every time.”
WHITTIER MAKING HISTORY
The win over Northeast, helped push Whittier Tech’s record to 6-5, which Allie Simmons says is the best record to date in the history of the program.
“The team had a lot of first-year players last year,” she said. “Now those players have had a ton of growth. They are not only starting, but playing the whole game and they are really coming into their own. Their endurance is better, their knowledge and game IQ has allowed them to really do thing themselves.”
The coach also credits the team’s three captains, which includes twin sisters Hannah and Samantha Azzari and Kate Velazquez. The sisters are both midfielders and Velazquez plays attack, while she also serves as the team’s back-up goalie.
The Wildcats return to action with a pair of non-league games this week when they travel to Salem (Mass.) on Tuesday for a 7 pm contest before coming home to face Malden on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m.
CENTRAL EDGED OUT BY BEDFORD, NH
The Central Catholic Raiders have done very well against MVC opponents, sporting an 8-1 record, but have gone 2-2 in four non-league games thus far which includes two recent losses to Hingham and then Bedford, N.H. (16-13). Head coach Vanessa Pino noted that Bedford really tested her squad throughout the entire game.
“Bedford was one of the best teams we have played. They’re disciplined and played well on both sides of the ball,” said Pino. “It was a good experience for our team to face another tough team. It’s always good to play tough teams, so we can focus on what we need to improve upon going forward. Bedford is very similar to the top teams in the MVC.”
In the loss, Kerri Finneran led the way with five goals, while, Abby Yfantopulos chipped in with three.
Bedford is 10-1 playing in N.H. Division I, which includes earlier season wins over Pinkerton Academy and Salem.
This Thursday, Central will get another crack at a very competitive Granite State team when it travels to face Portsmouth (9-2) on Thursday. Portmouth also was defeated by Bedford, 14-10.
WINDHAM HONORS SEVEN
On Wednesday, Windham dominated John Stark/Hillsboro-Deering 18-4 to improve the team’s record to 10-2 overall. Certainly the night was special to the program as the seven seniors Bradie Coles, Brenna Coles, Maria Killian, Sofia Parillo, Sarah Adamske, Eva Stahly and Emilie Webman were all honored for their season, careers and dedication to the program.
“They are an amazing group of girls who always bring so much energy to practice and games,” said head coach Jordyn O’Boyle. “We know they will all do amazing in their next adventure and we will miss them a lot. Bradie and Brenna will be attending North Carolina University-Wilmington, Maria will be attending New York University, Sofia is going to University or Rhode Island, Sarah is going to Plymouth State, Eva is attending University of Tampa, and Emilie will be heading to University of North Florida.”
If you have info any local girls lacrosse notes please send them to Jamie Pote at jpote@northofboston.com.