WATERTOWN — It wasn’t so much what the Ipswich girls lacrosse team was unable to do in Tuesday’s Division 4 state semifinal. It was more what Norwell simply wouldn’t allow them to do.
With an explosive offense, smothering defense and relentless team speed up and down the field, the Tigers were overwhelmed by the South Shore powerhouse, 16-1, Tuesday night at Victory Field.
An eight-goal second period by the Clippers turned a 3-0 contest into 11-0 at halftime. It was running time from the time Norwell scored its 10th goal with 3:45 left in the second quarter until the game ended.
Freshman Ella McCarthy had the only tally for the second seeded Tigers (17-3), her eighth of the playoffs and 34th of the season, with four-and-a-half minutes left in the third quarter.
“We knew how they played and tried to prepare for it, but they were so athletic and played such good team lacrosse,” said Ipswich coach Allison Tivnan, whose team saw its bid for a third straight trip to the Division 4 state championship come up one game short.
“Protecting the ball and valuing possession are so key, and we really weren’t able to get much possession,” Tivnan continued. “And when we did have it, unfortunately we threw it away.”
A big reason for that was Norwell’s never-ending defensive pressure, where two and sometimes three defenders would pounce on the Tiger with the ball and close any and all passing and/or shooting lanes. Clearly the Clippers had done their homework, blanketing Ipswich’s leading scorer, Allie Wile (67 goals, 14 assists on the season), keeping her as far away from their net as possible.
Senior goaltender Emma Paquette (6 saves) did everything possible to prevent Norwell from beating her, but was often left all alone with a shooter wide open in front. In fact, as a team the Tigers made several lineup and defensive alignments in an effort to stop the flow of goals against, but they were all to no avail.
“That was the most we’ve switched it up all season,” said Tivnan, “but we couldn’t get anything to click.”
Third seeded Norwell (18-3), which will meet No. 1 Cohasset for the state final Thursday at Babson, has beaten three straight Cape Ann League teams handily en route to the title game: Lynnfield (16-5), Hamilton-Wenham (17-8) and Ipswich. The Clippers have put home 71 goals in their four playoff contests.
Seven different players had at least one goal for the winners, with captain Charlise Cox scoring four times with two assists, fellow captain Holly Panttila also tallying four times, and Caroline Burtch, Margot Bonnevie and Lexi Davos each adding two goals and two assists.
Ipswich seniors Paquette, defenders Maddie Hanson (“she was excellent tonight,” said Tivnan) and captains Faith Hauenstein and Avery Brown, midfielder Lucy Winthrop, and attackers Taryn Desmond and captain Jayne Krause leave behind a legacy that saw them win the CAL Baker title three times in four years, go to the state semifinals three straight seasons and two state championship games.
Under their leadership, Ipswich had a combined 55-7 record the last three seasons, an .887 winning percentage.
“It’s all about the journey,” said Tivnan, “and while this may be a tough way to go out, we’re going to focus on the entire season and all the great things that happened. These seniors accomplished so much in their careers, and I’m looking forward to celebrating them.
“We have a lot of talented young players coming back, too: Allie, Lyla (Greenleaf), Ella, Natalie (Elder), Asuka (Keough), Sco (Ella Schofield) … I’m already looking forward to next year and what we can do to get back to the Final Four and hopefully go two games further.
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN