Windham girls lacrosse pulls away in the second half to beat Winnacunnet (video)

WINDHAM - There was a lot of time for the Windham High School girls lacrosse team to prepare for Wednesday's game against Winnacunnet.

With just one game in the previous nine days, the Jaguars also had a lot of time to wait. While it took them some time to warm up on both ends of the field, the outcome was what they wanted.

Windham made adjustments on offense and defense to turn what was a close game for almost 40 minutes into a comfortable 17-9 win over the Warriors in a Division II game.

After taking a four-goal lead in the first half, the Jaguars (7-1, No. 6 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) watched Winnacunnet come back to tie the game early in the second half. Although the Warriors were able to keep it close, Windham outscored them 9-1 over the final 23 minutes, including 6-0 over the final 12 minutes.

"We came out a little slow (Wednesday) and I expected that," Windham coach Russ Perkins said. "I think in the second half, they really got it together. Winnacunnet is always an athletically gifted team. I don’t know what’s in the water up there. They always have strong athletes. We had to get used to playing against people who aren’t going to wear down."

Although the Jaguars were able to score against the Warriors, it wasn't until they were able to control possession in the second half that they pulled away.

Cali Behling led Windham with six goals and two assists while Maria Killian and Sophia Ponzini each had three goals. Chloe Hall added a pair of goals while Cecilia Ponzini had a goal and three assists and Jenna Hollinger (one assist) and Emma Kendzulak had a goal apiece. Annie Mitchell finished with 11 saves.

Winnacunnet (4-3) got two goals apiece from Maia Delano and Shea Graham, while Palen Kelly, Julia Edgar, Abby Wilber, Skyla Mace and Clara Nardone had a goal each. Cadence Oleniak finished with nine saves, including four straight on one Windham possession in with about 13 minutes remaining.

That stretch helped keep it an 11-9 game in favor of the Jaguars, but after the fourth save, Killian was able to score, and after Windham won the draw, Behling added another tally just 41 seconds later to make it 13-9 with 11:21 to play.

"I think we’re finally getting into our style of play," Winnacunnet coach Colleen Farias said. "(Wednesday) was more Warrior lacrosse, at least for the first 40 minutes. We’re getting there."

The teams went back and forth early, with a goal by Edgar making it 4-3 Windham with 14:41 left in the first half. The Jaguars responded with a 3-0 run to take their largest lead of the half, but the Warriors were able to make it a one-goal game, 8-7, at the half.

"Our challenge on defense in the first half, I said, you have to be ready to move," Perkins said. "We do a wonderful job of sliding, but I think we started to depend on that too much. We said ‘well she got by me, someone else will pick her up.’ Winnacunnet was able to pop it over the top to the wide-open girl. I challenged them at halftime to stay one-on-one with your girl and let’s not count on slides to bail us out."

After the Warriors tied the game 2:10 into the second half, the Jaguars defense tightened up, allowing just one goal the rest of the way. And Killian quickly put Windham back in front, scoring two free-position goals just 1:09 apart to make it 10-8.

"That’s what we talked about at halftime," Farias said. "This is when you answer and respond. Teams see this and come out right away, so we have to answer immediately and we did. Yeah, it’s a loss, and no one takes that harder than me, but there are so many positives and gains from this experience."

Windham won 9 of 12 draws in the second half, helping the Jaguars keep the ball away from the Warriors' offense.

"We weren’t coming up with any of the draw controls, which is something we’ve been working on," Farias said. "And then our shot selection wasn’t the greatest in the second half. The goalie did a fantastic job, but we also were coming off the wrong angle when releasing the ball. We need to put ourselves in a better position when we’re coming in on that so we have more to pick and chose from."

Cecilia Ponzini scored with 6:43 left to make it 14-9 and Winnacunnet's Sofia Nardone received a yellow card on the play. Behling scored on the next possession, and moments later, Mace got a yellow card, putting the Warriors down two players and helping Windham put the game away.