Pembroke Academy lacks experience, not dedication to and enjoyment of game

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:43:00 GMT

BY JERRY LIPTAK

Rich Fortier, Pembroke Academy’s girls lacrosse head coach, reviewed the list of names, pen in hand. When he handed back the roster, 15 of the 21 players had check marks next to their names.

“Those are the players with two years of experience or less,” said Fortier, who coached the school’s club team last year and has watched his fledgling Division- III group struggle to take flight in 2008.

There is no feeder program in town, and few yearround players. Still, the Lady Spartans, said Fortier and assistant coach Rose Galligan, gladly take the field to play a game they must enjoy, for now, as beginners.

The team’s 15-1 loss to host Pelham on Thursday, May 2, was a perfect example of the slow process in building a competitive program.

Ground balls and completed passes were the almost-exclusive domain of the Lady Pythons. PA’s effort was consistent. It’s simply not on par with most of its D-III foes.

Pelham took a 4-0 lead before Heather Hill, whom Fortier described as an aggressive, dedicated individual on and off the field, left-handed a shot past the Lady Pythons’ goalkeeper.

“Heather has been on a mission to make sure she wasn’t going to be part of the last senior class to play lacrosse here,” said Fortier, referring to the uncertain future of the school’s sports programs.

Along with fellow senior captains Faye Lesniewski, Rose Palmer and Audrey Wills, as well as classmates Katie Cotnoir, Hannah Poirier and Bonnie Smith, Hill is one of eight upperclassmen on the team. Junior attacker Stacie Lavoie is the other.

The remaining 13 athletes – six sophomores and seven freshman – share playing time with their older mates. This group is led by sophomore Elisha Lacey, who has roughly nine years of experience playing against some of the area’s best competition on a regular basis.

“That’s bad (that she’s the most experienced) because she’s only a sophomore,” said Fortier. “But it’s good because she’s only a sophomore, too.”

Freshman goalie Allison McIntosh, forced into action because Smith was unavailable, stopped numerous shots in her first varsity start.

McIntosh’s classmates – Tamara Boudette, Kinsey Brassaw, the injured Breanna McCormack, Emma Pinard, Heather Sherburne and Megan Tassie – join sophomores Jordan Fallon, Sarah Freeman- Woolpert, Jillian Gallagher, Brianna Hughes, Lacey and Jennifer Lamontagne in completing the roster.

Repeatedly, PA made one or two good plays in a row against Pelham, but the Lady Spartans routinely couldn’t complete a sequence and score.

That, said Fortier, come with time and experience. For now, Pembroke continues in search of its first victory. The girls dropped a one-goal game to Somersworth, 6-5, on April 28 and show no signs of letting up, let alone giving up.

“They’re having fun and playing hard,” said Fortier, “with what little experience they’ve got.”

Worst loss – Pembroke lacrosse continues, honoring teammate

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 23 May 2007 21:36:00 GMT

BY SAPNA PATHAK

It should have been just another drive to work, but the phone call Ross Mondello received minutes before sitting in his car changed that.

Less than 12 hours after laughing on the sidelines with Matt Couture, the Pembroke boys lacrosse head coach heard the news Couture unexpectedly passed away due to a heart defect.

“We had a game the day before, and he was there smiling with everyone, making us all laugh as usual,” said Mondello. “I was so shocked, so thrown off coming into work the next day. For a 15-, 16-, or 17-year-old to come to school and hear that about his teammate … I can’t even imagine.”

Mondello first met Couture, a freshman on the Spartans football and lacrosse team this year, at a preseason meeting. Couture immediately left an impression on teammates and friends.

“He was so funny,” said Spartans senior co-captain Ray Champagne. “I met him in gym class for the first time, and I remember him always being funny. Even after coach would yell at us, he’d be the one making us laugh right after.”

Pembroke senior co-captain Colby Sortevik agreed, saying he’d met Couture as an underclassman when Couture’s older brother, Ben, played on the team. Not yet a varsity-sanctioned program, Pembroke fields a club squad that’s left to finish out the season with a heavy heart and memories of its young teammate.

On Tuesday, May 8, Couture returned home after a Spartans away game. Later that night, Couture collapsed in his bedroom. An ambulance crew was unable to revive him about 20 minutes later.

Mondello called Champagne and Sortevik immediately after Sue Hutchinson, the PA athletics director, told Mondello.

“I didn’t believe it,” said Champagne. “We’re not really a team, we’re pretty much a family, and to hear that was … I don’t know. We had a team meeting that day, and it was unanimous Matt would’ve wanted us to play out the rest of the season.”

In their May 10 game hosting Bishop Brady, the Spartans wore black jerseys in honor of Couture. Helmets displaying Couture’s No. 3 will also be worn the remainder of the season.

Though Mondello said the team returned to the field in Couture’s name without reservation, the journey back has tested the group.

“There is nothing you can say to anyone,” said Mondello. “You just have to be there for them, which isn’t always easy when you’re grieving yourself. It’s left a big hole, but there was so much support at that next game. It gave us strength. It makes you feel better for that couple of hours until you start thinking about it again.”

Pembroke News : lacrosse

Pembroke Academy lacks experience, not dedication to and enjoyment of game

Worst loss – Pembroke lacrosse continues, honoring teammate