The Sachem North girls varsity lacrosse team was hungry for a win. Looking to rebound after a rough stretch of five straight loses, Sachem defeated Longwood on Tuesday, 15-11. It was the Flaming Arrows second win of the season and the first in Division I, which is highly regarded as one of the finest in the United States.
Sachem looking to avenge a loss to the Lions last season, played inspired lacrosse. The first half was relatively dominated by the Flaming Arrows. Trailing 1-0 Sachem would tally three straight goals including two goals from junior Jessica Mazliah sandwiched around a Brooke Basso score assisted by Mazliah.
Longwood would cut the lead to one at 3-2 before the Arrows saw another three-goal spurt ignited by two more Mazliah goals and one from junior Kat Avanzato. Longwood would score their fourth goal of the game closing the Sachem lead to 6-4 before Sachem finished the half scoring four straight highlighted by Mazliah’s fifth of the game at the 2:54 mark.
However, the major story of the first half was the superior play in cage by sophomore goalie Kaitlyn Lynch. Lynch recorded nine first half saves with the help of tremendous defensive play by senior Danielle Levine, sophomore Jordan Ahmed, senior Samantha Raulli, and sophomore Emily Bellino.
That defensive quartet held Longwood scoreless for a stretch of 19:49 of game time spanning the end of the first and beginning of the second half. The second half proved to be more competitive. Sachem tallied five goals in the second half including three by Avanzato and one a piece from senior Taylor Corcoran, who finished with two goals, and junior Melissa Liebold.
Longwood never came closer than three goals in a see-saw second half. Mazliah finished the game with a outstanding nine total points on five goals and four assists, she also scooped up a Sachem season-high 12 groundballs. Basso, scored a season-high three goals chipped in one assist and seven groundballs.
“I was so proud of our competitiveness and our willingness to battle for every second of the game today,” said Sachem coach Ed Manly. “We controlled most GB battles, draw controls, and got key contributions from so many today, it was just an overall team win. We talk a lot about what it means to play like you’re from Sachem and play for each other like a family, we certainly did that today.”
Sachem returns to action on Thursday looking to put together back to back wins for the first time in the 2013 campaign.
Game Notes
- Sachem North is 2-2 on the road this season
- Kaitlyn Lynch’s 12 saves were a career high
- Jessica Mazliah’s 36 total points place her 22nd in Suffolk County in Scoring
- Sachem North has never lost at Longwood High School
- Kat Avanzato is averaging 4.5 goals her last two games