Above: The EGHS Girls Lacrosse team with their second place medals after the championship game Saturday, June 3. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

By Tommy Sprague

It was a season to remember and an historic one for the 2023 East Greenwich Avengers Girls Lacrosse  program. After beating the Barrington Eagles in the semifinals, the team was headed to the Division I finals for the first time in program history. The last time the Avengers competed for a title was a victory against Prout in the Division II finals in 2006. Kudos to that victorious team, but that was a while ago. To provide some context, in 2006 half of the current Avengers roster was either not born or between six months and one year old. That was then and this is now.  

The 2023 Avengers squad was stacked with talent from the freshman class to the senior veterans with some athletically gifted sophomores and juniors in between. This team has been incredibly captivating to watch. They were never perfect – almost all of their games came down to the wire, but game after game, they managed to edge out each of their opponents by a goal or two. Grinding out the wins, learning from their mistakes, and leaning on each other took them all the way to the state championship game on Saturday (6/3/23) at Brown University’s Stevenson-Pincince Field.

The girls knew the final game against the Moses Brown Quakers was going to be an uphill battle. MB beat EG twice during the regular season and it was clear throughout the spring that the Quakers have Rhode Island’s most well-rounded and dominant program. The Avengers stayed loose in the face of their opponent, focusing on soaking up the moment, and playing the best lacrosse possible alongside their friends and teammates.  

At the opening whistle, the Quakers jumped on the Avengers with complete dominance at the draw maintaining most if not all possession in the first half. EG’s defense had to bear down on the Quaker attack, but the onslaught was difficult to withstand. If not for the brilliant saves from goalie Fiona Baxter (10 total) the score would have been much higher. At the end of the first half, MB led EG 6 to 0.

Despite the deficit and girded by throwback orange slices and gummy bears, EG entered the second half with the enthusiasm and style of play for which they are known. Early on in the second, the Avengers were able to get possession and move the ball to their veteran players on offense. EG began firing shots on the net and managed to get three goals past the talented MB goalie. In their last high school game, Mila Navarro scored two and Helena Dunwoody had one.  Three goals would not be enough to beat MB. The Quakers increased the pressure, burned the clock, and pumped in six more goals to win the state championship with a final score of MB 12, EG 3.

The Avengers were underdogs all season – even though they believed in themselves and each other, no one expected this team to come close to winning anything. In the defeat, the team jumped for joy, hugged each other, clearly elated to have played in the state finals against an incredible Moses Brown team. The Avengers displayed their second-place hardware proudly for their adoring fans and favorite team photographer Chuck Nadeau. This team can boast that they are the best girls lacrosse team to ever come out of EG High School. Despite graduating many remarkable seniors, they have the talent and heart to make another run at the state title next season and I am already looking forward to it.

Mila Navarro on a fast break. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Goalie Fiona Baxter doing what she does best. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Lily Peters passing to the right side. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Fiona Baxter makes a save from the outside. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Helena Dunwoody setting up for the shot. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Olivia Prior trying to break away. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Tommy Sprague is a team parent. EG News is looking for similarly motivated sports enthusiasts to help us cover other EG sports. With more volunteers, we can cover more teams. If you are interested in helping cover sports next school year, contact [email protected]. We are happy to help!