South of Boston, the Cohasset High girls lacrosse program is known as royalty. Owners of a pair of state championships in 2017 and 2019, the Skippers are perennially in the mix to make a long and fruitful playoff run.
Ipswich High, which seeks its first state crown in girls lacrosse, can rightfully argue that it’s among the best programs North of Boston. Now the Tigers are out to prove they’re among the top squads in all of Massachusetts this season.
The Division 4 title is up for grabs Thursday starting at 5 p.m. on the turf at Walpole High School when fourth seeded Ipswich (19-1) takes on No. 3 seed Cohasset (18-3).
“I guess you could say it’ll be a battle of North Shore vs. South Shore,” said Ipswich head coach Allison Tivnan, whose squad reached the state final a year ago before being shaded by Dover-Sherborn, 10-9.
“I feel our team needs to play Ipswich lacrosse,” added the fourth-year IHS coach from Danvers. Her teams have a combined record of 61-13 during that time, including 12-3 in the postseason. “If we play our game and focus on what we need to do, we can compete and play with any team.”
The Tigers, who have scored 62 goals in their four playoff wins while allowing just 29, are coming off of a thrilling 12-11 comeback victory over top seeded Weston in Monday’s state semifinals. In that contest, they trailed by three in the fourth quarter before Lucy Wile and captain Halle Greenleaf — who each finished with four goals — combined for four unanswered tallies to put Ipswich back in the Division 4 title tilt.
Cohasset, led by first-year coach John Fitzgerald, had a stirring semifinal win of their own. After falling to Norwell in last year’s Division 3 quarterfinals in overtime, the Skippers got four goals and an assist from sophomore attack Avery Regan and another three scores from junior midfielder Reese Hansen to down their rivals, 11-9. The game was tied late before sophomore Kate Greer buried the game-winner. Senior mid Laney Larsen (2) and sophomore Aine Norton also scored while freshman Janet O’Carroll got the win in net.
In their four playoff wins, Cohasset has found the opposing net 73 times and has surrendered a mere 25.
The two schools had one common opponent this spring: Manchester Essex. Ipswich had a pair of tightly contested games with their Cape Ann League rivals, winning 6-4 and 8-7. Cohasset had no such issues against the Hornets in the playoff quarterfinals, rolling to a 19-7 victory.
With limited time to get scouting reports on each other, don’t expect any major changes in how the two teams normally go about their on-field business. Tivnan wants her Tigers to tighten up a few things from Monday, but said her players know what needs to be done.
“They are focused and they are ready. They want it,” said Tivnan. “They need to go out there and play our game — and of course, have fun. That’s the most important thing.”
Halle Greenleaf, one of the four Ipswich captains, has 17 goals and seven assists in her team’s four postseason wins to go with a team-leading 92 points this spring. Tivnan pointed not only to Greenleaf’s scoring prowess but also her general excellence all over the field, particularly her ability to gain possession off the draw and push it downfield.
Sophomore Allie Wile, who has a dozen goals over the last four games and 55 on the season, does so much for her team at both ends of the field, said her coach. Lucy Winthrop (10 goals, 2 assists in the playoffs) has won a large majority of draws she takes, often getting the ball to Greenleaf and fellow captain Ella Stein (7 goals, 1 assist in the postseason). Sophomore Lyla Greenleaf has dished out nine assists during the IHS playoff run and added three scores of her own, while captain Estelle Gromko adding four goals and a like number of assists.
Many of goalkeeper Emma Paquette’s 28 saves come at critical junctures, the coach added.
“We’ve had so many girls step up for us in the postseason … truthfully, I could highlight the entire team,” Tivnan said. “But I have to credit the four senior captains (including standout defender Morgan Sexton); those four work so hard and set the bar so high for Ipswich lacrosse. That’s why we’ve been so successful this season.”
Beginning on the first day of practice back on March 18, Ipswich talked about needing ‘one more win’. That has now become not only a reality for a school seeking its first girls lacrosse championship, but also its mantra.
“Going to the state final two years in a row is so fun, but obviously we are hoping and planning for a better result this time,” said Tivnan. “Cohasset is a great team, so it is not going to be easy — but the state championship shouldn’t be easy. We are ready and we are pumped!”
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