LEBANON — Sara Ecker, who served as Lebanon High’s girls lacrosse coach for 31 years before departing last year, said in a Valley News column last month that the program’s future was in “extraordinary hands.”
On this point, she has been proven right.
The Raiders picked up their fifth straight win and moved to 6-2 on the season Monday afternoon after blanking ConVal 18-0 in an NHIAA Division III matchup.
Mo Marquis, who played under Ecker and is now in her first season heading the Raiders varsity team, credited her squad for staying engaged through the heat.
“I’m just proud of keeping their heads in the game, practicing the foundational skills of good passes, good catches, ground balls — so they kind of always kept that in their heads as they got tired and they were working hard keeping those foundational skills in the back of their heads,” she said.
It was a banner day offensively for seniors Abby Auch and Sara Forman, who scored five and four goals, respectively. The former added two assists, while the latter had three.
Freshman Kate Clary had three goals and an assist, junior Addison Durell also scored three times, while senior Audrey Newton had two goals and an assist, and sophomore Claire MacMartin scored once.
The Raiders dominated from the opening draw and raced out to a 9-0 lead just over halfway through the first quarter.
Lebanon’s quick start was thanks in large part to its ability to possess the ball. The Raiders finished the contest with 20 draw controls to the Cougars’ one.
In the second quarter, Lebanon added five more goals in the frame and took a 14-0 lead into halftime.
The lopsided affair allowed the Raiders to play everyone on their varsity and junior varsity rosters and to insert some players into situations they would not otherwise have experienced.
That, and getting some extra practice running the offense during in-game action, could pay dividends as the season progresses.
“We’re trying to use these opportunities — game situations, where we run through our motions with purpose (so that) when we’re in situations where it’s not easy to get through, or we’ve got different people in to run through what it looks like under real pressure,” Marquis said.
Adding: “Defense in a practice — they know exactly what’s going to happen, but when you’re doing it in a game situation — it’s authentic — it’s going to flop, what do you do now when it doesn’t go the way you anticipated?”
The Raiders added three more goals in the third quarter and one more in the final seconds of the game to put an exclamation point on the contest.
Eight games into the season, Lebanon seems to be hitting its stride, and Marquis credited the leadership of her players for that.
“I think that we’re getting comfortable with who we are on the field, where we want to be, what positions we’re comfortable in, and just supporting each other,” she said. “I feel so blessed to have these players be my first experience coaching varsity.”
The Raiders will try to make it six wins in a row on Wednesday when they visit St. Thomas Aquinas in Dover for a 4 p.m. battle.
