SUDBURY – In a game between two of the top teams in the state, every minute lived up to the bill.
No. 5 Franklin was able to outlast No. 4 Lincoln-Sudbury, 10-9, thanks to some solid goaltending and even better offense throughout the first 40 minutes of game play yesterday at Lincoln-Sudbury.
“We know whenever we play L-S it is going to be a battle,” said Franklin head coach Kristin Igoe. “They are well-coached and disciplined. But our goalie really stepped up. Dani Lonati had an excellent game and kept us in the game.”
The senior came up big with 10 saves, including a huge save with a 9-8 lead which led to the second goal of the afternoon for junior Kendall Reardon to make it 10-8 with 1:06 to play.
Franklin (11-2) rallied from a multi-goal deficit in the first half and went up as much as 9-5 before Lincoln-Sudbury (7-2) rallied to get within one goal due to complacency and turnovers for the Panthers.
“We started having too many turnovers on offense,” Igoe said. “So, in a timeout, we talked about cashing in when we have the ball and capitalizing on our opportunities and we did it just enough to beat a really good team.”
Senior Emily Spath scored to make it 9-5 with 14:20 left before a tally for Brianna Stokes cut the lead to 9-6. A Clara Bisson charge gave the Warriors back the ball as Isabel Ross scored on the ensuing possession. The Warriors won the draw and another Ross tally made it 9-8 with 7:22 left in the contest.
After Reardon made it 10-8, Lincoln-Sudbury did score with 47 seconds left on a goal from Stokes to cut the deficit back to one at 10-9, but Franklin won the draw to run out the clock.
In the first half, Franklin was down 4-2 before two goals from Spath knotted the score 4-4. After a Warriors timeout, the Panthers scored two goals in the final 3:06 of the half for Reardon and Julia Jette respectively to lead 6-4 after 25 minutes of action.
“Once we got the ball and got into our offense, we were able to do what we wanted to do,” said Igoe. “But they are really patient on offense and our defense stayed disciplined when the ball was on the ground and didn’t give them second chances.”
Even though Kenzie Pleshaw led the team with four goals, it was Spath who was the catalyst of the offense with three goals, including two goals in a 33-second span to tie the contest 4-4.
“Spath did an excellent job,” Igoe said. “She played her position really well today. When she got the ball, she saw the lanes to goal and wasn’t afraid to take them.”
For Lincoln-Sudbury, Stokes compiled five goals and one assist and Ross scored twice.