Notre Dame girls edge Westwood in battle of lacrosse powers

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 - achievement over Westwood on the road It was an evenly-matched battle commented Notre Dame coach Meredith Frank McGinnis They came out extremely strong They have several unbelievably athletic players They were all over the ground balls We had to figure out a way to respond and the challenge could have gone either way Every single year it feels as though Notre Dame - and Westwood - end up vying for the title of the top girls lacrosse band 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 to play in the opening frame to make it - Taylor Watts ended the scoring drought for NDA sniping a shot to make it - with left in the frame Anna Haggerty netted a goal with six seconds to play in the stanza trimming things to - I know I say this everytime but working as a company is the the greater part vital thing Watts announced 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 tally the tournament s next three goals in the second quarter as Caroline Haggerty and Sadie Lopez each uncovered the cage before Anna Haggerty potted her second to provide the Cougars a - 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 -all With 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 - advantage Everybody was working for each other announced 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 - with left From there the Cougars closed strong by bleeding out the clock Every competition that we play is extremely competitive McGinnis explained They re so well-coached they re so disciplined they re so fast I say this a lot but if we could play of these games it would ultimately make our players better It s such a fun climate to play in All the credit to Westwood Couldn t have required for a better meeting