After tough start, Pinkerton girls lacrosse bounced back with a big week

NASHUA - When the calendar flipped to May, the Pinkerton Academy girls lacrosse team was in a spot it hasn't been in a long time.

Through eight games, the Astros had won exactly half of them, and were still trying to figure out how to fill some holes in the lineup, both expected and unexpected.

But with three games last week against teams above Pinkerton in the Division I standings, the Astros (7-4, No. 3 in the New Hampshire Orthopaedic Center/NHHSSports Coaches Poll) found a way to right the ship, picking up a pair of one-goal wins over Exeter (8-4, No. 4) and Londonderry (5-4, No. 7) before ending the week with a 13-3 victory over Nashua South (7-3, No. 10).

“We went into Exeter and Londonderry with the same vibes,” Pinkerton senior Francesca Doyle said. “We knew they were going to be tough. We’ve beaten them both in the past, but we knew this year, that they were going to be tough. Mentally, we were just prepared and we went in and did our job.”

Those jobs were still being determined through the first few weeks of the season, with the Astros needing to replace nine seniors from last season, including Hannah Lisauskas, the program's all-time leading scorer.

Then, three games into the season, junior Delaney Summers, the team's returning leading scorer from last year, went down with an injury that ended her year.

“We had a good game plan coming in (this season) and then our game plan sort of got blown up,” Pinkerton coach Kaite Bourque said. “Then we had to say, ‘OK, what’s our next step.’ We finally feel like we’ve gotten into a bit of a groove with what’s working for us. I think we confident, but obviously, we know we still have a lot more to do.”

In the immediate aftermath, the players needed to hit the reset button and realize, while they were missing a key player, they still needed to get on the field and compete.

“We had to adjust and just get our groove back and our team chemistry back,” Doyle said. “We still need to work together. I think we’re doing a really good job with that, stepping up and doing our part and pushing each other.”

After scoring late to beat Exeter and coming back in the second half to get the win over Londonderry, Pinkerton started fast against South, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the game's first six minutes. Two goals in the final two mintues of the opening quarter made it 6-0 and the Astros took a 9-0 lead into halftime.

“The way (the season) started, I think we were kind of in a slump,” Pinkerton junior goalie Paige Fenner said. “The defense is always in front of me, working their butts off, no matter who we’re playing. If feels good to have that trust, and having that with them makes me play better and it feels really good to get that for the whole week.”

As the offense has come together at the other end, the scoring has started to spread out among not only upperclassmen, like Doyle and junior Sookie Folsom, but players who have taken on a bigger role, like junior Ava Michelinie and Rylee Robinson.

“We just try to preach, if everyone can do their job and step up a little bit, hopefully everyone can fill that role together,” Bourque said. “I think Sookie, Rylee, Fran and Ava have definitely contributed and they’re working together. They’ve got a groove flowing and it’s been good.”

The Astros still have a few big tests left on the schedule, starting with Monday's game at home against Bishop Guertin. Pinkerton still has games against Bedford and Winnacunnet, and another one against Portsmouth, coming up.

“It’s how you view things and how you take things,” Fenner said. “I think maybe they might underestimate us a little bit. It feels good to be kind of an (underdog).”