Weare News : lacrosse

Stark’s successes in ’08 impressive; rebuilding awaits team

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:21:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

When the No. 8 Lady Generals’ 2008 lacrosse season concluded with a 23-10 loss to undefeated No. 1 seed Portsmouth in the Division III quarterfinals on Thursday, May 29, coach Jon Warner didn’t dwell much on the negative ending to a season full of so many positives.

“We had a winning record, we beat a couple teams we never beat before, and we made the playoffs for the second straight year,” he said. “And this season, that was no easy task.”

Indeed, Stark finished with an 8-6 record – best in program history – and reached the playoffs with seniors who improved themselves, and the team, each of the last four years.

“At the start of the season, if you told me we could have done all that, I’d be very happy,” said Warner. “With a couple different breaks, we’d have ended up with another playoff spot and wouldn’t have ended up playing Portsmouth. But even though we took a pretty good shellacking, the girls never gave up until the last whistle.”

Warner loses 10 seniors, including nine starters, and must rebuild primarily out of its current sophomore class.

Sam Aucoin, the team’s leading scorer, and fellow tri-captains Kelsey Wells and Steph Constant of Weare depart, as do Connie Honeycutt, who was second on the team in scoring.

Also leaving are Nikki Scarneo, Lauren Baum, Shelbie Connor, Brianna Duquette, Jordan Modine and Morgan Vogt.

Still, returning to form next season may not be as easy for the team as it was this year. Though the Lady Generals lost 10 seniors last season, only half started.

The class of 2008 contributed throughout the lineup, said Warner, and in some cases are nearly irreplaceable.

“We’re going to miss them all,” he said. “We’re losing two of three attackers, two of three offensive midfielders, my two defensive midfielders and all three defenders.

“Most of those seniors are going to be replaced by our current sophomores and probably some freshmen and JV players,” Warner continued. “It’ll probably be a little different dynamic, but the upside is that while next year might be a year we’re transitioning, the year after that the whole group of seniors will have four years, and at least a year starting, under their belt.”

Though they’ll be lacking experience next season, his player’s athleticism, said Warner, will keep the team competitive.

Those returning include Weare residents Angela Beaulieu, Jess Constant, Martha Fiala, Sydney Getzin, Alyssa Hawkes, Kayla Hubbard, Arelle Legrand, Cassie Purington and Meredith Wheeler.

Rachel Quimby, another Weare native, returns in net for her fourth season as starting goalie. She is one of five juniors.

John Stark’s four-year climb a result of seniors’ growth

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:03:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Four years ago a very green group of freshmen helped the John Stark girls lacrosse team to the first win in program history.

In 2005, the Lady Generals notched one victory. The next season, they triumphed five times, and then, in 2007, their 6-8 record under first-year head coach Jon Warner earned them a spot in the Division III tournament.

This season, the 8-5 squad has won five of six and seven of its last nine contests to secure its first winning season.

Following an 11-8 victory against Merrimack Valley on Monday, May 19, John Stark is back in the playoffs, and with a win in its final game against 9-4 Kingswood, the squad can climb as high as the No. 5 seed.

Last season, Warner said it was a forgone conclusion seven teams would be in the playoffs. That left Stark, Hopkinton and Kearsarge to battle for the final berth. The Lady Generals earned the honor, but lost to eventual state champ Hollis-Brookline in a tight battle.

This year, the league is wide open behind favorite Portsmouth, said Warner “Right now, we’re just looking for the highest seed we can get, and then I’m hoping we can get a playoff win,” he said. “… Depending where we’re positioned, there are certainly teams we are capable of beating.”

But a 14-12 Senior-Day loss to rival Kearsarge on Saturday, May 17, squashed John Stark’s hope of hosting a first-round playoff contest. “It really hurt,” said Warner. “I mean, we’ll end up with similar records to other teams, but lose on tie-breakers.”

Still, Warner isn’t complaining.

After all, neither Weare nor Henniker have youth lacrosse programs, so all but two players – sophomores Annele Jones and Zile Jones – picked up a lacrosse stick for the first time in high school.

Teams like Hollis-Brookline and Portsmouth, on the other hand, receive middle-school athletes already developing into polished lax players.

Of the 2008 roster’s 10 seniors, nine start.

That list includes tri-captains Sam Aucoin and Weare residents Kelsey Wells and Steph Constant. In addition, Weare’s Connie Honeycutt and Nikki Scarneo complete their last season at John Stark, as do Lauren Baum, Shelbie Connor, Brianna Duquette, Jordan Modine and Morgan Vogt.

“This is a great group of girls to coach,” said Warner. “We have a lot of players who played three or four years that have contributed and helped the team grow, and we all appreciate what they’ve brought to the program, so we’re going to miss them.”

Weare’s Rachel Quimby is a three-year starter in net and one of five juniors.

The relatively small group of juniors, said Warner, may mean a rebuilding year in ’09, but a crop of 14 sophomores and eight freshmen certainly offer hope.

Other Weare residents contributing this season include Angela Beaulieu, Jess Constant, Martha Fiala, Dydney Getzin, Alyssa Hawkes, Kayla Hubbard, Arelle Legrand, Cassie Purington and Meredith Wheeler.

Game notes
After falling into a 3-0 hole in the first four minutes against Merrimack Valley, the Lady Generals battled back and knotted the contest at four by halftime.

The locals pulled away in the second half, outscoring their foes 7-4 to secure the victory. The win was Stark’s first ever against Merrrimack Valley, and it secured the program’s first winning record and a spot in the D-III tournament.

Aucoin found the back of the net five times to break the JS scoring record with 103 career goals.

Honeycutt added two goals and three assists; Annele Jones contributed a goal and two assists; Zile Jones offered a goal and an assist; Modine had two assists; and Steph Constant also provided a helper.

Season notes
Through May 17, Aucoin leads the team with 32 goals and 37 points. Annele Jones has added 22 goals and 29 points. Honeycutt has contributed 22 goals and 29 points.

Wells, who leads the team with 11 assists, is fourth in total points with 25. Constant has offered nine assists.

Stark’s strong second-half effort lessens sting of loss to Hopkinton

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:35:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

Visiting Hopkinton High School jumped out early on host John Stark and minimized a second-half charge, continuing its recent dominance of the Generals with a 7-2 victory in Division-III boys lacrosse on Friday, April 18.

Hopkinton’s David Wood opened the scoring roughly three minutes into the first quarter of the contest, firing a deep shot that found the back of the net.

Less than a minute later, Doug Meyer gave the Hawks a two-goal lead, weaving through the General defense and scoring past John Stark goalie Andrew Seccareccio. It was the first of Meyer’s three goals during the game.

Joe Dammann then added two goals within a minute of each other, and the Hawks, behind goalie Bryan Libby, who turned several difficult shots away, held on for the win. “We got a normal game out of (Libby), with normal meaning outstanding,” said Hopkinton’s head coach, Doug Maynard.

“He’s doing a great job in net. He can play outside the crease and make outlet passes. He’s been the total package.”

Early in the second half, John Stark scored when Nathan Goldsberry fired from close range after receiving a pass from Parker Gage. That cut the lead to 4-1.

Following Meyer’s second goal late in the third quarter, John Stark answered when Goldsberry notched his second goal of the game to make it 5-2.

Hopkinton iced the contest with two fourth-quarter goals.

Generals head coach Mark Schaub said his team has had lopsided contests with Hopkinton in recent match-ups, and he was happy his team was able to keep the score closer this time.

“In the past it would have been hard for us (falling behind early), but this team has a good mindset,” said Schaub. “We didn’t think we were out of it. I was proud they could focus on what they knew they could do.”

Maynard said the key to the victory was his group’s determined effort to control play.

“I love seeing more men getting on the ground balls,” said the coach, whose team improved to 2-1. “We had great hustle, and we worked very hard.”

Schaub said John Stark, now 1-3, had a difficult time controlling the speed of Hopkinton. “They’re a fast team, and they really kept us running. That was impressive,” he said. “They moved the ball well, and when our defense got out of position, they found the hole.”

Despite struggles, JS building upon past success

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 09 May 2007 19:26:00 GMT

BY MATT STOUT

Her team was minutes away from improving to 3-1. It had erased what was a three-goal deficit at one point. Despite losing, it still stood in good shape four games into the spring.

But when asked about the John Stark girls lacrosse team’s season thus far following a last-minute, 10-9 loss to Kingswood on May 3, senior captain Liz Marshall said it “has been a rough start for us.”

Really?

“Well, just this game I guess I’m reacting to,” she said.

Yet, such are the expectations surrounding the Generals for this season, a year after they completed the most successful campaign in program history and earned their first playoff win. Close won’t cut it anymore, neither will accepting a sub.-500 start.

After finishing 6-9 in 2006, they feature a more diverse offense, a defense built around athleticism and a goalie in Rachel Quimby who is that much more experienced.

Considered a first-year coach, John Warner was also a major contributor to last season’s success, scouting the team from the stands as an assistant and filling in for a week for head coach Lorraine Connell.

Though Stark was nipped again on Monday, May 7, in an 8-7 loss to Laconia – its comeback fell short after erasing an 8-4 deficit – it rebounded with a 11-10 win over Hopkinton on Tuesday, May 8, to pull to 3-3 entering another busy week of Division III match-ups.

The Generals play at Merrimack Valley, then at home against Somersworth before hosting Saint Thomas Aquinas in the span of five days. They have no plans of backing down, even with a more competitive league than in past years, Warner said.

“Now we expect to do better,” said Warner, whose daughter Leigh, the program’s second all-time leading scorer, is one of two seniors gone from last year. “I think everything’s there.”

Heading Stark’s complete squad is a balanced attack that’s moved from relying on one scorer, such as Leigh Warner last year, to several.

After eight different players scored in a 12-11 win over Kearsarge on May 2, seven different people found the net against Kingswood, including Sam Aucoin, who scored three times. Sarah Dixon, Morgan Vogt, Connie Honeycutt, Meg Sawyer, Marshall and Kelsey Wells all scored once.

Quimby made seven saves on Monday to stem a Laconia attack that’s scored 12 or more goals in four of its seven games, and a defense led by senior Nicole Duquette is starting to find the chemistry it had last year.

With upcoming games against some of the league’s top teams, including St. Thomas and Hollis-Brookline, the Generals will need top efforts if they hope to continue to meet their heightened expectations. But that’s not to say they didn’t always think they were capable of reaching them.

“Even though we lost games, we always felt like we could do better, so it wasn’t much of a surprise (last year) because we always knew we had it in us,” Marshall said. “At least to get back there (to the second round), I think definitely (is the goal).”