Cohasset | McClelland Miscellanea

Cohasset celebrates its Round of Eight win

Laney Larsen had 6 goals for Cohasset including this one

(Newburyport) “We knew that the rankings didn’t reflect our abilities,” said Cohasset senior Molly Stephens afterwards.

The #8 Skippers (16-3) took the lead four minutes into their game with #1 Newburyport and never gave it up.

The final was Cohasset 12, Newburyport 9 in the Division 3 state quarterfinals.

The Clippers (19-2) had won fifteen straight and were undefeated (13-0) at home.

It didn’t matter to the visitors from the South Shore League.

“We are playing our best lacrosse at the right time,” said Cohasset coach Kully Reardon post-game. “This was our best game of the season this afternoon.”

Laney Larsen had six goals for the Skippers.

“Laney is a sophomore with the confidence of a senior,” said Coach Reardon.

Laney had the first two goals of the game, but Newburyport battled back on a goal by Rita Cahalane to make it 2-1 and later on a goal by Lilly Pons to make it 3-2. But the Clippers couldn’t even the score.

The outcome-deciding portion of this game was the final 3:42 of the first half. The visitors did all the scoring and led, 6-2, at the half.

The toughest goal for Newburyport was the one that Laney Larsen got with one tick left in the first half.

Coach Cat Batchelder’s short summary of the game was, “We didn’t play well.”

When asked for specifics, Coach Batchelder referenced the defense, the attack, the draws, as areas where the team had underperformed.

The Clippers started well in the second half. Within the first three minutes both Anna Affolter (3 goals) and Lilly Pons (3 goals) scored to pull Newburyport within two goals, 6-4.

Later with 13:15 to go, the Clippers were again down two (7-5). Two minutes later, however, Laney Larsen (6 goals) had two more scores and Cohasset was up, 9-5.

Credit Newburyport. Down by four (11-7) with eight minutes left, they scored two straight times (Anna Affolter and Lilly Pons) to move within two goals with 3:28 left.

Cohasset called timeout and returned to hold onto possession until freshman Reese Hansen drove home the clincher with 1:35 left.

“We like it when the other team has to come out and play us because we have so much firepower,” said Coach Reardon.

Brown commit Molly Stephens had the size, strength, and skills to give Cohasset a definite edge on the draws.

Molly was recently named the South Shore League MVP. She had two goals today. Her biggest contribution to the win was in the draws.

Both teams were very good at running their offenses. The Clippers, however, struggled to finish.

One reason for the Newburyport goal-scoring troubles was Cohasset goalie Aizza Chase. “Aizza is the best goalie I’ve had,” said 12^th year Coach Reardon. “She adds composure and confidence back there.”

Reese Bromby after CHS goalie Aizza Chase

Regarding Molly Stephens: “Molly had a brace on her leg earlier in the season. Every game she has improved. She got some possessions today that she wouldn’t have gotten earlier in the season.”

I was impressed with the long runs of Holy Cross commit Anna Affolter in the second half.

The weather was perfect.

Good crowd with quite a few of the Cohasset faithful in the stands.

Cohasset goals: Laney Larsen (6), Kira Fulton (2), Molly Stephens (2), Reese Hansen (1).

Newburyport goals: Lilly Pons (3), Anna Affolter (3), Rita Cahalane (1), Izzy Rosa (1), Reese Bromby (1).

Cohasset 6 6 = 12

Newburyport 2 7 = 9

Bridget Mahoney chased by Rita Cahalane and Makenna Ward

Bridget Mahoney, Laney Larsen, Molly Stephens

Anna Affolter and Izzy Rosa try to get the ball away from Rorie Newman

Makenna Ward pursued by Kira Fulton and Reese Hansen

Meredith Kelly (19 points) defends Lizzy Ball (14 points) in the key matchup of the game.

(Boston) Meredith Kelly led Cohasset (25-0) to the Division 4 title on Tuesday afternoon at the TD Garden as the Skippers defeated Manchester-Essex (13-13), 50-40.

Meredith led all scorers with nineteen points but that was only half the story. The defensive job she did on ME’s main scoring threat, Lizzy Ball, was the game decider.

Lizzy ended up with fourteen points but they’ll be the hardest points she’s ever gotten. She made six free throws (6-for-8) but only 3-of-18 from the floor and nothing (0-for-3) from long range. Credit Meredith and the Skipper help defense, which stepped in when Lizzy broke free.

The final score in this one is misleading. The Hornets were very much in contention (trailing only 15-14) with 5 ½ minutes left in the first half. Julia Martz (11 points) had eight of those points in what looked like anyone’s game.

However, ME’s chances slipped through the cracks over the next 7 ½ minutes of playing time, stretching into the second half. The Hornets came up pointless in the next fourteen possessions while the Skippers produced twelve points over the same span.

Seven turnovers by the Hornets during that scoreless segment were the chief contributors to the resulting 27-14 deficit 2 ½ minutes into the second half. ME would carry that double-digit deficit for the rest of the game.

Undefeated Cohasset (25-0) poses with D4 championship trophy

Cohasset had the senior leadership with the lead to be patient on offense and used the clock. They settled for high percentage shots (their last six baskets were layups) and prevented ME from getting into any kind of comeback rush.

The final score is also misleading since ME scored the last seven points of the game over the last three minutes after Cohasset had turned things over to its reserves.

I saw St. Mary’s of Lynn defend Pentucket star Erin McNamara out of her normal game in the D3 North tournament (held to 9 points after averaging 20) but have teammates pick up the slack and carry the Sachems to victory. Lizzy Ball faced the same defensive situation versus Cohasset, but on this day, the talented junior found teammate help wanting.