Derryfield girls lacrosse takes first meeting with St. Thomas (video)

MANCHESTER - This week was marked on the calendars of many associated with the girls lacrosse programs at the Derryfield School and St. Thomas Aquinas High School.

The Cougars and Saints met for the first time Tuesday, and the two teams did not disappoint.

After a slow start, Derryfield built up a lead going into halftime and did just enough on both ends of the field in the second half to hold off St. Thomas for an 11-9 win in a matchup of top teams in Division III.

The game was tied three times in the first half, and the lead changed hands as many times, before the Cougars (9-1) went on a late run to take a 6-4 lead into the break and pushed it to three goals early in the second. The Saints (8-3) got within one goal twice in the second half, but every time, Derryfield had an answer.

"We just had to keep readjusting," Derryfield coach Mellissa Catenza said. "Everybody was getting tired and we had to keep readjusting our game to their game, and keep on the defensive. We had to really push. Our rides were great. That’s a thing we’ve been working on, not to give up on those rides. We’ve just got to keep doing that.

"We still have a lot of work to do. St. Thomas played a great game, but I’m really proud of the way they played."

The Cougars got three goals apiece from Lucy Licata and Casey Benson (assist) while Abbey Carr had two goals. Hailey Ramundo also had a goal while defenders Lauren MacLean and Leahy Hoey also got in on the scoring with a goal apiece.

Shawna Lesmerises finished with 11 saves, including the 400th of her high school career midway through the first half.

St. Thomas got six goals and two assists from Brooke Chandler, who scored the 100th goal of her career, while Sarah Leahy had two goals and an assist and Kylie Youngclaus added a goal. Becca Harmon made eight saves for the Saints, who jumped out to a 2-0 early despite a few pregame jitters.

"They came in with a lot of energy," St. Thomas co-coach Jen Carroll said. "I think, too, just going into it, we had been hyping it up so much, I think everyone was a little nervous.

"The second half, we seemed to have pretty transition down the field and getting more of those open passes rather than forcing something on net. Their goalie is outstanding, so we have to make her work, too. It’s tough competition. Hopefully, going into Thursday, we’ll be more confident and know we can hang with them."

After St. Thomas took the early lead, Derryfield responded with three straight goals to go up 3-2. But the lead didn't last long, as Chandler scored to tie it just 38 seconds later. The senior gave the Saints a 4-3 lead with 8:11 remaining in the half, but the Cougars responded with three goals in 2:42 to take a 6-4 lead that they'd carry into halftime.

For Derryfield, the six goals in the first half came from five players, with Benson netting two.

"We’ve talked about it before," Catenza said. "Lucy can’t be a one-man show. Everybody has to be involved and you have to be smart about it, practicing working together. We talk about it all the time, we’re trying to get the younger players, because we have two freshmen on attack, and we want to give them the confidence."

Carr opened the second half with a goal to give Derryfield a 7-4 lead, but Chandler answered with back-to-back goals just 13 seconds apart to make it 7-6. Goals by Licata and Leahy made it 8-7 Cougars with 15:26 to play and Derryfield was able to pull away a little after that.

Another goal from Carr made it 9-7 with 12:24 to play and Licata and Benson scored 47 seconds apart to give the Cougars their largest lead, 11-7, with 7:53 remaining. Leahy and Chandler were able to add goals, making it a two-goal game with 1:57 left, but Derryfield won the final draw and was able to use up most of the clock.

"We knew we had to guard (Leahy) and we had to guard (Chandler), those were the girls who were going to be scoring," Lesmerises said. "That proved to be correct. We were doing so well with our slides, which made me incredibly happy, and we were all listening and communicating, which was something we’ve been working on, and it finally came together."

The two teams will meet against at 4 p.m. on Thursday at St. Thomas.