Possession time key to Windham's run to D2 girls lacrosse title

NASHUA - Sometimes the best way to keep a team from scoring is to never let them have the ball.

The Windham High School girls lacrosse team did that throughout the postseason on its way to the Division II championship.

After dominating the draw in the semifinals against Timberlane, the Jaguars did just the same in the championship game against Winnacunnet, going 17 of 20 in the circle on the way to a 10-6 victory on June 4.

That included winning the game's first three draws, and then turning each one into a goal, giving Windham a 3-0 lead just over three minutes to start.

"We were able to win mostly all the draws and that was huge for us," Windham coach Jordan O'Boyle said. "They have great offensive players on their end, so if they get that momentum going, it could have gone either way. We were able to win the draws and get the momentum going on our side. That’s what helped us win that game."

Sophia Ponzini, who led all scorers with five goals in the game, took all of the draws for Windham, while Winnacunnet rotated a couple of players in and out, trying to break up the senior's run. At first, Ponzini was able to get the groundball on her own, but after the Warriors made an adjustment, the Jaguars' other players on the circle jumped in to help out.

"That just comes down to raw talent," Windham senior Paige Carboni said. "Our middie line is so talented, and even our attackers, we have a few attackers who run the rotation on the circle and that’s just their talent. We could rotate a lot of players onto the circle and be confident they could come up with the ball."

That domination on the draw came as a surprise to Winnacunnet.

"We have been fantastic on draws all year and we won (three Tuesday), which is mindblowing to me with who we have out here," Winnacunnet coach Colleen Farias said. "There wasn’t anything special that happened with the draw that made it fall in their sticks. It was a lot of us watching."

But even after winning the draws, Windham was at times able to draw out possessions, keeping Winnacunnet from getting its offense going. As the Warriors picked up yellow cards throughout the night - they finished with five total - the Jaguars were able to hold on, running out the final 4:17 of the game.

"We were able to pull that off because of our coaches," Windham senior Chloe Hall said. "During practices throughout the season, we’ve been doing this drill where we basically stay in the middle of the draw circle and we just throw in people. It’s a possession drill. That was the entire concept of the drill at the end of the game, so it was awesome to see that come into play."

Seitzer saves the season

After falling behind 3-0 early, the Warriors were able to cut the lead to one, 3-2, before the end of the first quarter. They even had a chance to tie the game early in the second quarter, but Windham goalie Jaidyn Seitzer came up with back-to-back saves to keep the Jaguars in front.

"She played unbelievable," O'Boyle said. "She had two huge saves right in there, and it gets everyone else hyped up. We trust her."

Seitzer was put in a tough spot at the beginning of the season, stepping in to replace Annie Mitchell, who transferred to Governors Academy before the school year. Having never played lacrosse before, Seitzer proved to her teammates she was up to the challenge.

"We were a little nervous, but as the season went on, we got more and more confident with her," Ponzini said. "She did phenomenal. She picked this sport up like it was nothing, like she’d been playing for the last 10 years."

Keeping the ball away from the opposing offense was a big part of Windham's success, but the defense around Seitzer also did it's best to provide support.

"We really focus on keeping the ball out of the defensive end, and that starts with the draw," Carboni said. "We say it at practice, every single player is a defender. We know we have a new goalie and we’re doing our best at all points to try to protect her. We’re trying to make it the hardest shot possible for them to have, and then the easiest one for her to save."

Moving on up

This season was Windham's last in D2, with the program set to make the jump to D1 starting with the NHIAA's next two-year cycle beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

While there will be some big shoes to fill next season - the Jaguars graduate nine seniors - the feeling is the program will be just fine.

"I think they’ll be OK," Carboni said. "They have a lot of strong players coming up and we had a few players who had huge impacts this year, and I know they’ll do amazing next year. It definitely will be a transition, but I think they’ll be a strong team. It will be very exciting."