Just when you thought that the ranks couldn’t get any thinner on the JV squad…

The NYA JV girls won what could only be termed a true “team victory” against visiting Massabesic with a score of 7-2.  Absences and injuries forced some interesting roster moves for NYA to able to field a team at all.  Much thanks goes to Molly Strabley and Caroline Bowne who stepped into unfamiliar roles to bolster the dwindling JV line-up.  Strabley, a midfielder,  made her debut in net, providing many saves and as many comic moments as she learned on the job.  Bowne, a defender, worked on figuring out attack and scored the final goal of the game.  Nikolle Storey, typically in goal, played out in the field on defense.

With no subs on the bench, all the girls were called on to cycle through different positions to help keep legs fresh.  Due to a conflict that saw one player departing at halftime, NYA played a girl down for the entire second half.  Nonetheless, NYA managed to score three goals and hold Massabesic to only one goal in that period!

Scoring was led by Olivia Madore (three goals) and Jen Brown (two goals).  Gianna Nappi also chipped in a goal of her own.

Number of injured players on the varsity squad continued to thin out the bench  of the JV squad, as many JV girls  stepped in to play important roles on the varsity.  Six of the players who suited up for the JV contest had some significant time in the Varsity win over York, including Olivia Madore who netted a hat trick of three goals playing attack for the varsity.

The lean and mean JV squad (no subs!) got off to good start in the 1st half on a solo goal from Bailey Clock after some nice stickwork, dodging through the York defense.  Olivia Madore continued to wreak havoc, scoring two first half goals, one solo and one on a nice feed from Gianna Nappi, who scored a goal of her own off of a free position shot.  The first half ended with the Panthers ahead 4-3, but it was not to last.

York continued to play aggressively and the NYA girls, many of whom were tired from playing two games, simply ran out of steam.  Emily Claytor would score (assist from Lilly Reder) and Bailey Clock would put another in to put NYA ahead 6-5 with 14:00 to play.  But York answered with four goals or their own in the next seven minutes to take the lead for good.

Nikolle Storey made 6 saves.

A  rough varsity game at Falmouth on Thursday evening has resulted a number of the JV girls getting the call to swing up to Varsity to fill spots.  It is a great opportunity for the girls to step into a higher level of competition, but also left a few of the swing players a bit more fatigued for the following JV match.  Despite a thin JV bench (one sub), the girls played one of their best games of the year against Waynflete.

The first half was hard fought and featured excellent defense by both teams.  Nicole Storey was solid in the net, turning away all but one of Waynflete’s shots.  NYA’s transition defense did a great job forcing turnovers, and Jillian Bjorn-Caron and Lizzie Roche were relentless in gobbling up ground balls and starting the transition to offense.  Nyajal continued to set the defensive tone around the arc with her intensity and intimidating calls of “GOT BALL!”  Carly Lappas also contributed with her stealthy interceptions and smart defensive positioning.

Both teams had trouble generating offense.  After some offensive adjustments at halftime, Bailey Clock scored a goal to tie up the score, but that would be it for the day for the Panthers.

The game ended up with a soccer-like 1-3 loss for NYA, but in sum, it was a an excellent game for the girls against a solid Waynflete squad.

The JV girls had the opening match of a pair of evening games at Falmouth and  faced off with an athletic and aggressive squad.  The Panthers managed to match goals for most of the first half and were in a 2-2 tie in the closing minutes of the first half.  Carly Lappas found Emily Clayton, who scored on a nice cut from the top, and then Carly scored one herself, beating a couple defenders in transition. The Falmouth girls were persistent, and despite some good effort on the defensive end, they scored a quick pair of goals in the waning minutes to leave NYA down 2-4.

The second half was highlighted by a pair of goals from Abby McKelvy and one from Gianna Nappi.  The defense also made some adjustments towards the end and held Falmouth scoreless for long chunks of the 2nd half.  In the end, however, turnovers by NYA and fast breaks from Falmouth ended up in  final score of  NYA 5, Falmouth 10.

Following an exciting but disappointing Varsity overtime defeat, the NYA girls turned in a dominating performance against the Rangers JV team.   The girls controlled the game with excellent work on draw controls and ground balls.  The offense was efficient and continued to develop their one on one game, creating opportunities for each other to challenge and score by driving to the net.

All of NYA’s goals were netted by four players:  Abby McKelvy and Emily Claytor each had three and Carly Lappas and Bailey Clock each added  a pair.  The defense was stingy, allowing only three goals.

In the end, NYA walked away with an 11-3 victory.

It was a cold and wet MPA debut for the JV girls against their cross-town rivals, Yarmouth.    The Clippers were an athletic and aggressive team, and the NYA girls matched their intensity.  Unfortunately, despite some nice transition and spots of excellent defense, the NYA girls struggled with dropped balls on offense, which Yarmouth was more than happy to scoop up and convert into offense of their own, scoring 11 goals to NYA’s 4.

Nikolle Storey did a solid job in net with nine saves and some great outlet passing.  Nyajal Ngoal continued to lead the defense with her intensity and strong one-on-one coverage around the net.

NYA’s offense was produced by Abby McKelvy  and Olivia Madore, who each scored twice.  Olivia and Bailey Clock each had an assist.

It was a beautiful day for lacrosse and the JV girls rolled into the Hyde school full of energy for a final scrimmage against the Hyde Varsity before their MPA opener against Yarmouth (Tuesday!)

Unfortunately, due to some sort of miscommunication at Hyde, their team had no idea that we were coming and were rather surprised to see us!

While there were no refs and no game, we ended up with a fun afternoon of lacrosse, joining up with the Hyde girls for some full field transition practice, as well as a thirty-minute full field scrimmage.

The ball spent most of the day in Hyde’s defensive end due to some strong NYA defense and good work on draws by Emily Claytor, Olivia Madore, and Maddie Fenderson.  The NYA girls continue to play unselfishly and move the ball briskly in transition and around the offensive zone.

With only one sub on the bench for NYA, all the girls got plenty of field time.

We are ready for Yarmouth!!!

The NYA JV girls lacrosse team hit the field as a full unit for the first time on April 12th at Scarborough, and it was an impressive debut.  Seven different girls combined for the team’s ten goals in the 10-5 victory!  Also noteworthy was the fact that there were assists on eight of the ten goals.  These girls can move the ball!

Play of the day: NYA prevents Scarborough from clearing out of their end.  Emily Claytor recovers the ball just over half field and starts the break, passing to Maddie Fenderson on the right.  Maddie turns and heads toward the net.  As the defense collapses towards her, she fires the ball to Gianna Nappi, who has been left alone next to the goal.  Gianna tucks the ball past the goalie to finish off a textbook fast break.