Lawrence takes control on the field to record its third win this season.
By: Tim Falls
Head coach Heather Rainey only had a few things to say after Lawrence’s girls lacrosse game against Hightstown on Tuesday.
That’s how Amy Wham knew Lawrence had played well.
That and the score.
The Cardinals defeated Hightstown, 14-6, for their third victory of the season. Lawrence improved to 3-8 with the win after not winning a single game last season.
"It’s so exciting," said Wham. "We didn’t know what to expect. We did come in with confidence."
Wham scored four of Lawrence’s 14 goals.
"I think our entire offense found scoring opportunities," said Wham.
Katie Coleman added to the offense with three goals, while Lauren Raymond and Heather Olex each scored twice and Kelsey Petrone, Mary Kate Rogener and Maegan Vaz each had a goal.
"Of course Amy and Katie always seem to stand out," said Rainey, "but I think everybody stood out (against Hightstown)."
That’s why Rainey didn’t have too much to mention in the team meeting after the game.
Rainey and assistant coach Lauren Gossner usually take time after the game to highlight what went right and go over any mistakes that might have been made out on the field.
"If we lose by a lot or we win like we did, 14-6, it doesn’t matter," said Rainey. What Lawrence has to discuss, "depends how they play it’s not based on the score. We go over what they need to work on."
Rainey admitted there wasn’t much to go over after playing Hightstown, since the Cardinals played well across the board.
"This was one of our best passing games of the season," said Wham. "We passed well, we had really clear passes one after each other."
Rainey saw improvement in her team’s passing as well.
"Usually, once we get the ball one of the girls moves it forward," said Rainey. "Passing the ball moves it faster than our feet."
It didn’t take long for the Cardinals to take control, but the Rams put up a challenge at first.
"In the first few minutes it was 1-1," said Wham. "Then we got going and took a lead and played with confidence."
Erica Nagy kept the Cardinals ahead by making 11 saves and held Hightstown to two goals in the second half.
"Erica played great," said Wham. "She definitely made the saves for us."
Hightstown is an even younger program than Lawrence and is playing in its inaugural season as a varsity squad.
The Cardinals are technically in their third varsity season, but their coaches are still in their first year leading a high school program. Lawrence is still growing and while the coaches won’t berate the team for how they play, there are times when Rainey and Gossner have plenty to go over after games.
"We’ve had a few meetings that have gone for half an hour," said Wham.
There were a few things to correct after a 13-6 loss to Allentown last Friday.
Coleman and Wham each had a hat trick in the loss, but Allentown’s Kelsey Grant matched Lawrence’s score with six goals, while Colleen Giglia scored four.
"They looked like a completely different team than when they played Allentown," said Rainey, describing the Cardinals improvement with Monday’s win.
"Everything is completely different," said Wham describing the new approach the Lawrence coaching staff instituted this season. "It’s for the better. Our coaches are great. They know lacrosse, they’ve been playing for years, and they’re teaching us how to fix the mistakes that we make."
The Cardinals recorded their second win of the season by defeating Ewing, 10-7, last Wednesday.
Coleman led the attack with six goals, while Wham scored twice and Rogener and Raymond each had a goal.
Erica Nagy recorded the win in goal, stopping seven Ewing shots.
Of course, Lawrence’s biggest win was its first, a 14-13 victory over West Windsor-Plainsboro South on April 21.
Unlike Hightstown and Ewing, the Pirates are an experienced program. For Lawrence to eke out a win against WW-P South was a major feat.
"We weren’t expecting that at all," said Wham. "It was so exciting."

