Medford players guide MC girls lax to win over Mustangs in state tourney

MALDEN - It took a little Medford mentality to get the early jump on the Mustangs this Memorial Day.

Sophomore midfielder Zoe Gownie led a strong local contingent scoring four goals and adding two assists, as the No. 31 seeded Malden Catholic girls lacrosse team stopped No. 34 Medford 15-4, in preliminary round action of the Division 1 State Tournament on Monday. It marked the second meeting between the two schools, with MC taking the regular season finale 17-13 a week earlier.

With the win, MC (13-5) advances to take on second-seed Chelmsford on Thursday.

“Looks like it’s all paying off,” said Malden Catholic coach Riley Elderidge, in her first year at the helm. “Our defense really improved. [Medford] scored 13 goals [against us] in our last game. So we learned a little more about them, worked hard and made the necessary improvements. Our defense locked in. Our goalie locked in, and our offense sped it up. The defense played amazing today.”

With the loss, the Mustangs end the season at 11-9.

“We haven’t had weather like this all season and the heat got to us,” said Medford coach Bianca Passacantilli, in her third year.

After enduring a back-and-forth first quarter and holding a slim 4-3 lead, the Lancers leveled the playing field, scoring four consecutive goals to open the second quarter and establishing a 9-4 lead by halftime. Meanwhile, Medford native and MC senior goalie Nevin Mustone stood on her head. The Lancers quad captain made 11 saves, keeping the Mustangs off the scoreboard for the entire second half.

“Communication is key and our defense is really good with that,” said Mustone. “They were able to just slide really well, keeping them from not having to take many shots. That makes my job a lot easier.”

Gownie and Mustone are among eight Medford girls on the Malden Catholic roster. Senior quad-captain Rory McConnell scored two goals and added an assist on an attack. She buried what proved to be the eventual game-winner 56 seconds into the second quarter.

“It feels great,” said McConnell.  “We worked really hard. It feels awesome and we’re excited about this team.”

They are also joined by senior quad-captain Bailey Koehn, sophomore defender Maeve Lawlor (two goals), sophomore backup goalie Sidney Caron, and freshman defenders Kaliway Koehn (goal) and Sofie Shanley.

“They’ve all been key players for us,” said Elderidge. “And it's personal for them. It gives them a little extra motivation.”

The Lancers appeared determined from the jump. Sophomore midfielder Ella Panacopoulos scored her first of four goals just 34 seconds into the contest. The Danvers native also cashed in on a penalty shot moments later, giving MC the early 2-0 lead.  McConnell maintained the Lancers frenetic pacing potting her first of two, extending the MC lead to 3-0 with 6:44 left in the quarter.

Medford sniper Erin Alves gave the Mustangs some hope cutting the deficit to 4-2. And when senior midfielder Beckey Casey cashed in with 44 seconds left in the quarter, the Mustangs only trailed by a goal.

That’s as close as they would get, however, as Malden Catholic outscored them 5-1 in a pivotal second quarter. The Mustangs' Celia Meagher snapped a Lancers' four goal binge in the second quarter making it an 8-4 affair, but the damage was already done. MC went on to score seven unanswered goals in the second half to seal the victory.

“We knew who their shooters were and where their goals were going to come from,” said Passacantilli, pointing to last week’s regular season finale. “We worked on crease rolls in practice and tried to target the biggest thing that hurt us last week. We just lost our momentum.”

Although disappointed with the loss, the Mustang coach felt her team accomplished quite a bit this season.

“They had a great season,” said Passacantilli. “We played a great deal of non-league games we don’t normally play and we still gave it our all. Every game we were trailing, we fought until the end. That’s all we want to see.”  

Going head-to-head against their neighbors from Medford was a unique experience for the local Lancers.

“Its awesome playing against these girls that I grew up with, are best friends with, and also started lacrosse with,” said McConnell. “Its good competition and fun.”

Mustone concurred.

“It was pretty cool,” said Mustone. “All our families are friends, and we even had our parents going against each other, but it was a lot of fun. We were really excited and just ready to compete and give it our all against a good team.”

Mission accomplished.