Speed alone would give the Joel Barlow High girls varsity lacrosse team a bit of an edge in its game at New Milford last week.
The Falcons were quick in getting the ball deep into their opponents half of the field on Saturday, April 20. Able to maneuver around the Green Wave’s defense, they racked up the goals in a 14-2 win.
“I would say we definitely had a lot of speed comparatively, especially in the midfield,” said Falcon head coach Melissa Sportini. “We’ve got some really athletic players that help us out a lot.”
Barlow, which never trailed, applied pressure on New Milford right from the start. It did not have to wait long to see results, scoring back-to-back goals by Elyssa Kalamaras in the span of a minute, as the visitors led 2-0 with 7:35 left in the first quarter.
Just 12 seconds later, Barlow struck again, this time on a quick goal by Allie Ogden. It took advantage of two free position plays in the time remaining, adding two more tallies, one by Ogden and one by Helena Zima as the Falcons were up 5-0 after one frame.
“Nowadays a lot of teams are playing zone defense,” said Sportini. “And so what happens is you have quick ball movement. There are more opportunities to draw shooting space and that’s what was happening today.”
Barlow continued the onslaught into the second frame with goals in the first minute by Kalamaras and Ruby Ludwig, the latter coming off a pass from Caroline Lippoth. A goal by Zima preceded two by Savannah Herrman, who got past New Milford’s defense and slipped a shot into the net. She added another with an assist by Zima as Barlow led 10-0 at halftime.
With a double-digit lead and the clock running, the Falcons eased up a bit on attack. Following a fourth goal by Kalamaras, New Milford ended the shutout when Claire Christian scored with 4:07 left in the period. Lippoth, however, responded with one of her own with 30 seconds to go and it was a 12-1 game.
Goals by Lippoth and Ludwig made it a 13-point game in the fourth quarter but the Wave got the last word in when Lauren Carlson scored with 3 seconds left.
Six different players scored for Barlow. Kalamaras led the way with four goals while Lippoth, Ogden, Ludwig, Zima and Herrman each netted two.
Kalamaras also led Barlow by winning six draw controls. Lippoth led in ground balls with four.
Barlow, now 6-4, hosted Brien McMahon on Thursday and visited Staples on Saturday.
