HINGHAM — No. 8 Longmeadow played one of its best quarters of the season during the second quarter against No. 1 Notre Dame Academy on Friday in the Division II state quarterfinals.
The Lancers worked into the middle of the Cougars’ defense, cut off the ball and broke through Notre Dame Academy’s ride. Longmeadow outscored the Cougars four to five in the frame.
But to start the third quarter, the three-time reigning state champions came alive.
The Cougars scored seven of the game’s next eight goals, going on a run and defeating Longmeadow, 16-6. Sadie Lopez scored a game-high five goals for Notre Dame Academy. Taylor Watts chipped in three.
Molly Henshon scored a team-high two goals for the Lancers.
Notre Dame Academy led by two at halftime. A change in mindset pushed its lead to eight by the end of the third quarter.
“Just valuing possession and getting better shots,” Cougars coach Meredith Frank McGinnis said about what changed. “Credit to Longmeadow. They’re tall, strong and aggressive. Well-coached, disciplined. I felt like we were a little bit rattled. We came out strong and they fired back. We just needed to settle ourselves and regain some composure and go out and execute.”
The second quarter belonged to Longmeadow, but Notre Dame Academy set the tone in the first quarter.
Powered by a relentless ride, the Cougars forced turnovers at midfield, got out on the break, moved without the ball and scored the game’s first five goals. Two of the goals were scored by Lopez, the others came from Anna Haggerty, Watts and Grace Mulcahy.
“We put an emphasis on he things we can control,” McGinnis said. “Working hard in transition is something we can control. It’s not something that has a lot of tactical movements. It’s more reading the play and being athletic. Ultimately, we might not get the ball back, but we will certainly work hard.”
But then the Lancers made their run.
Henshon scored back-to-back goals to open the second quarter. The first came off a spin dodge on the right wing with nine minutes to go in the frame. Three minutes later, she scored again on the break after getting in close to the crease.
Kerry Conway added on another by sneaking into the middle of Notre Dame Academy’s defense, getting the ball and scoring to make it 5-3.
Lopez slowed down the run with a goal two minutes later on a rocket of a shot from the point, but the Lancers kept coming. Brinn Anderson cut into the middle, got a pass from behind the net and scored to make it 6-4, Cougars, going into halftime.
Notre Dame Academy’s coaches made it clear at halftime that the team’s attack needed to move on offense with more purpose in the second half, and that is what they did.
Ani Woodard and Lopez each scored to open up the third quarter to build back more of a cushion. Sam Goodrich scored from a tight angle on the left wing near the crease to respond, but Notre Dame Academy’s success on the draw kept the ball away from the Lancers for the rest of the game.
Notre Dame Academy went on to score seven of the game’s next eight goals to seal the win.
The Cougars are the three-time reigning champs and are going for an unprecedented fourth-straight title. But before they can do that, they will need to get through either Reading or Hingham to earn a spot back in the title round.
“We are really focusing on the next game,” Lopez said. “We aren’t finished yet. Hingham and Reading are both very talented. We are focused in on putting in work in practice and winning our next game.”
