The Wilton High girls lacrosse team graduated four of its eight defensive zone players from a year ago, but it was hard to tell in Friday’s season opener.
The Warriors held visiting Fairfield Warde to only two goals, en route to a 12-2 win at Lilly Field.
“The defense played great. I was so proud with the way we supported each other on the field, and there was a lot of chemistry,” said Wilton Head Coach Meredith Meyran.
“We weren’t getting any shots on goal,” said Warde Head Coach Tom Davis, whose team fell to 1-1. “They were pressure defensing us, doubling teaming. We just couldn’t get our hands free to take any shots.”
The Wilton defense of Casey Tucker, Mel Boehme, Maddie Duffy and freshman Paisley Eagen, along with midfielders Makenna Pearsall, Laine Parsons and Cecily Freliech, limited Warde to only eight total shots. The Mustangs went 24-plus minutes without a goal before Amanda Orvis scored with 46 seconds left in the first half, which ended with Wilton up 7-1.
Wilton finished with 30 shots, but were up only 8-2 with four minutes left as the Mustangs got a great game from goalie Becca Snitkoff, who made nine saves.
Not surprising for an early-season game, things were sloppier than either coach would have liked, with a combined 23 turnovers.
“Our defense really didn’t play that bad. We just had some turnovers we shouldn’t have had. It wasn’t a flawless game for us. We had to play an ‘A’ game to compete with them,” said Coach Davis.
“We had some breakdowns because it’s early season, but overall I was really pleased with the effort,” said Coach Meyran.
Pearsall led the Warriors with four goals, while Sara Dickinson, Freliech and Rebecca Wistreich had two goals each. Parsons and Eva Greco each had one goal, and Eliza Chapey, Greco and Freliech each had an assist.
Courtney Scheetz and Amanda Orvis each had a goal for Warde.
Pearsall finished with six draw controls, while Parsons had three and Greco two. Freliech had one draw control.
Wistreich, Pearsall, Greco and Boehme each had two caused turnovers, with one each by Parsons, Freliech and Tucker.
Olivia Phelan (one save) and Paige Brown (two saves) split time in goal for the Warriors.
“They’re a good team, they’re a powerful team. They’ve got a lot of talent out there,” said Coach Davis. “Fortunately for us, the first couple of shots they hit the pipe or they missed. Once they started to go, we really couldn’t hold them.”