WESTWOOD – Sophomore Ani Woodard delivered for Notre Dame (Hingham), sniping the eventual game-winning goal Wednesday as the Cougars registered their biggest win of the season with an 8-6 victory over Westwood on the road.
“It was an evenly-matched game,” said Notre Dame coach Meredith Frank McGinnis. “They came out extremely strong. They have some unbelievably athletic players. They were all over the ground balls. We had to figure out a way to respond, and the game could have gone either way.”
Every single year, it feels as though Notre Dame (15-3) and Westwood (16-2) end up vying for the title of the top girls lacrosse team in Massachusetts. Playing in front of their home crowd, the Wolverines got off to a flying start as Caroline Nozzollilo netted a pair of goals, before Charlotte DeMaio drew twine with 4:30 to play in the opening frame to make it 3-0.
Taylor Watts ended the scoring drought for NDA, sniping a shot to make it 3-1 with 3:40 left in the frame. Anna Haggerty netted a goal with six seconds to play in the stanza, trimming things to 3-2.
“I know I say this everytime, but working as a team is the most important thing,” Watts said afterward. “Staying focused, winning the draws, having good defensive sets and staying disciplined on both ends of the field (makes the difference).”
Notre Dame proceeded to score the game’s next three goals in the second quarter, as Caroline Haggerty and Sadie Lopez each found the cage, before Anna Haggerty potted her second to provide the Cougars a 5-4 lead at intermission.
Then, the two schools engaged in a back-and-forth spanning for the majority of regulation. Cecilia Thurmond netted a pair of goals for Westwood in the third quarter, as the two juggernauts entered the final stanza deadlocked at 6-all.
With 9:16 left in regulation, the Cougars scrambled for a clean shot, and fed the ball to Woodard. The sophomore slipped through the defense, and converted with a bullet as Notre Dame seized a 7-6 advantage.
“Everybody was working for each other,” said Woodard. “I could see that everyone was cutting and moving perfectly. It led to a perfect land.”
After Cougars goaltender Adair Routh made a series of outstanding saves to preserve the lead, Watts sealed the deal on the other end. The junior buried her third goal to complete a hat trick, as Notre Dame extended its lead to 8-6 with 5:33 left. From there, the Cougars closed strong by bleeding out the clock.
“Every game that we play is extremely competitive,” McGinnis said. “They’re so well-coached, they’re so disciplined, they’re so fast. I say this a lot, but if we could play 20 of these games, it would ultimately make our players better. It’s such a fun environment to play in. All the credit to Westwood. Couldn’t have asked for a better game.”