Above: Goaltender’s view of Mila Navarro scoring. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

By Tommy Sprague

The Avengers hosted the Barrington Eagles for their second match up of their regular season Thursday night. It was EG’s Senior Night, an opportunity for the team to celebrate the nine graduating seniors and their families. Mia Schenega, Pyper Smith, Hope Scaramella, Mila Navarro, Helena Dunwoody, Fiona Baxter, Izzy Gelzhiser, Grace Birkett, and Ava Gallonio were honored with flowers, gifts, and speeches full of love, admiration, and appreciation. It was a touching ceremony for an extraordinary senior class that will be missed as much for their leadership and mentorship as for their play on the field.  

This adoration quickly turned into inspiration as the team prepared for their pregame huddle hype celebration. Much like the teams’ first match up, EG jumped on Barrington, scoring 5 unanswered goals in the first 10 minutes. However, last year’s champions did not submit and began climbing back, even taking the lead at the end of the first half with a score of EG 7 to Barrington 8. Avenger goals were scored by Mila Navarro (3), Lindsey Rowe (2), Julia Moore (1) and Catherine Sprague (1).

In the second half, Barrington had better success at the draw, winning eight to EG’s two.  However, the Eagles’ possession was stymied by the home team’s aggressive defensive play.  EG’s defensive line of Grace Birkett, Izzy Gelzhiser, Olivia Prior and midfielder Maeve Kiernan frustrated the Eagles, creating turnovers and, along with phenomenal stops from goalie Fiona Baxter, the Eagles were not able to capitalize in the net. Barrington’s frustration turned into aggressive play and, eventually, yellow cards against the Eagles. EG took advantage of this player up advantage and pressed the net. The Avenger’s talented offense did their job pumping in an additional 7 goals – Helena Dunwoody had 3, Navarro 2, and Rowe 1. However it was Eva Dufresne’s final goal in the last minute and 25 seconds that secured the victory. EG defeated Barrington with a score of 14 to 13, continuing their run this season. This win clenched EG’s second place in the division providing them with a bye in the first round of the playoffs. They will face the winner of the June 1 Barrington–La Salle game at Cranston Stadium. 

Mila Navarro scores the tying goal. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Lindsey Rowe fires one from the center. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Helena Dunwoody takes a hard high check. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Julia Moore shoots high for the score. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Girls Lacrosse Seniors 2023. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Tommy Sprague is a team parent. Our thanks to him for covering Girls LAX. EG News is looking for similarly motivated sports enthusiasts to help us cover other EG sports. If you are interested, contact [email protected]. It’s a lot of fun!

Posted 5/21/23