Lady Bulldogs turn their season around

Girls lacrosse

By: John E. Powers
   Sara Wagner, the head coach of the Hopewell Valley Central High School girls lacrosse team, had an inkling that the brutal week of games in which her team lost to powerful Shawnee and Moorestown would be beneficial at some point.
   What she might not have realized was how quickly the benefits would arrive.
   The Lady Bulldogs recovered from their 0-5 start to win three straight games last week against Princeton (16-8), Hun (12-7) and Pennington (14-2) before losing to Princeton Day on Monday 16-10.
   "I credit the turnaround to everyone being comfortable with their positions and working well together," Wagner said. "We just clicked against Princeton. Katie Lincoln won several draws and did a nice job controlling some of the midfield play. Molly Ryan and Maggie Rarich did well stepping into the center position, but we had to readjust and, against Princeton Day, that made it hard to come up with a win."
   Caitline Lane, Allison Moriarty and Beth Haggerty all scored twice for the Lady Bulldogs in the drubbing of Pennington. It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
   The win over Hun featured four goals apiece by Lane and Moriarty, and Rarich added three assists. Lane and another senior attack, Emily Devilin, have played very well.
   The team played without Lincoln and goalie Izzy Huston in the game against Princeton Day. Alissa Molinelli (four goals, one assist) and Moriarty (three goals, two assists) led the Lady Bulldogs.