Plymouth lacrosse team gets hot as playoff pressure builds
Plymouth’s Avery Lombardi works her way through traffic in front of the net Monday night.
Plymouth’s girls lacrosse team is feeding off the win-or-go-home pressure the post-season presents.
The Wildcats earned their second-consecutive MHSAA regional triumph Monday night when they defeated Salem, 15-7, in a match played on the P-CEP’s west turf field.
The eight-game losing streak the ‘Cats carried into the post-season is long forgotten thanks to their 9-8 regional win over Canton on May 15 coupled with the semi-comfortable victory against the Rocks.
On to the semis
Plymouth advanced to a regional semifinal match May 27 at Brighton High School against the winner of Wednesday’s South Lyon-Ann Arbor Huron encounter.
If the Lions prevail, they will be a tough test for the Wildcats considering they will take a 20-0 record into Wednesday’s quarterfinal match against the 4-9 River Rats.
Plymouth never trailed against the Rocks after building a 3-0 first-quarter lead on goals from Jaclyn Schlanser (two) and Addison Estes.
Salem’s Bella Papazoglou cut her team’s deficit to 3-1 with a goal at the 5:45 mark of the first quarter, but Plymouth countered when Estes buried a penalty shot with just 18 ticks remaining in the opening stanza.
Rocks rally in second
After Wildcat junior Lizzy Burnham scored 53 seconds into the second quarter, Salem narrowed its halftime hole to 5-3 thanks to net-finders from Amelia Berns and Cate Martin.
The Wildcats all but cemented the victory by outscoring Salem 5-1 in the final seven minutes of the third quarter to expand their lead to 13-6.
Schlanser led the winners in the scoring ledger with six goals. Burnham added four. Rhiana Savoie, Ellie D’Angelo and Avery Lombardi added single goals for the ‘Cats.
Salem was led by No. 45 (not listed on roster), who scored three goals, and Papazoglou, who scored twice.
Plymouth goalie Fiona Fitchett made several clutch saves while Salem freshman goalie Ella Clemmons made multiple point-blank saves.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
