Girls’ Lacrosse Edges Mercy 10 – 9 In Thriller

The Branford-Mercy girls’ lacrosse game was like weather in New England — it can change at any time. That was the case on Tuesday when Branford eked out a 10 – 9 win after the lead seesawed back and forth a number of times.

By the end of last week, the Lady Hornets had racked up two more wins. They also beat Lauralton Hall 11 – 10 on Wednesday and Sacred Heart Academy 15 – 5 Friday, making that Branford 3, Catholic Schools 0. They are now 3 – 1. The Lady Hornets are scheduled to play a home game tonight at 7:00 p.m. against Guilford, weather permitting.

At the Branford-Mercy game, it looked like Branford was going to romp over the Mercy Tigers when they built an early 4 – 0 lead. But Mercy regained their composure and pulled back to trail only 6 – 4 at the half.

Mercy then took the lead in the second half and led 8 – 7 at one point. The play of Seniors Teagan Mockus and Claire Benevento (pictured) and sophomore Ashlee Smested kept the Hornets in the game until the end when they pulled ahead for keeps and held on for their first win of the season.

“That was a nice win for us tonight”, said Hornet coach Jacki Ceccolini (pictured.) ​“Losing a big lead could have made us quit but our senior leadership never gave up and we came back. We need that kind of spirit. I was proud of them”.

media_4}The Hornets had seven different players score goals in the game led by Mockus, Benevento and Smested, all with 2 goals each. Smested (pictured) also had an assist.

Four others scored one goal each. Seniors Caroline Murphy (pictured) and Kara Nardella along with junior Kendall Simmons had one each.

Freshman Autumn McHenry (pictured) had one along with two assists.

Coaches and captains of the girls lacrosse team include L‑R Joe Alessi , assistant coach, Cara Broughal, Caroline Murphy, head coach Jacki Ceccolini, Teagan Mockus and Billy Alessi assistant coach.

###