CYLA 14U Cobra Girls Thrash Andover, 14-7

By Colin Murphy

The CYLA Cobras 14U girls lacrosse team continued its surge in the AARP Junior “Speed” division by thoroughly thrashing Andover, 14-7, under the lights at Meade High School on May 4. The Cobras saw contributions from every player in the commanding win, evening their season record at 3-3 and further gelling as a team full of improving young players.

Head Coach Sonny Jones was satisfied with the well-rounded performance his team delivered. “The biggest thing I liked about how we came on was that we spread the wealth,” said Jones after the game. “We’ve improved a lot. We’re having fun.”

The Cobras dictated the pace of play throughout the game. After multiple fast breaks in the opening moments, Katie Martyn scored off a rebound two minutes in to give the Cobras a 1-0 lead. Subsequent goals by Mackenzie Parks and Lilly Maenner put the Cobras up 3-0 early in the first half.

After Andover managed to score two quick goals to pull within one, the Cobras settled into a more deliberate, settled offense, working it around to one another with several crisp passing sequences. A goal by Annemarie Duerr was followed by an intercepted pass and quick goal by Lyndsey Dewling, giving the Cobras a 5-2 lead.

Stellar goalkeeping from Marissa McDonnell kept Andover frustrated throughout the first half, and goals by Abbey Kipke, Allisyn Freburger, and Martyn resulted in an 8-3 CYLA lead at halftime.

“We communicate and work together well,” said Duerr after the game. “We all have positive attitudes throughout the game, whether we’re winning or losing.”

A game Andover squad managed two unanswered goals out of the halftime break to narrow the lead to 8-5 before the Cobras began securing possessions and creating fast break opportunities on the strength of excellent midfield and ground ball play by Rachel Heller, Delia Bennett, Kelsey Oltman, and Jamie Schuler.

Schuler led the Cobras on the day with seven ground balls, a facet of the game to which the team devotes great attention in practice. “We crown a ‘Ground Ball Queen’ at the end of the season with a trophy,” said Coach Jones after the game. “Ground balls are a big deal for us, because they really help us control the game.”

Goals by Kipke (twice), Riley Hutson and Megan Eisenhardt, the latter two assisted by Kiana Murdock and Laura Evans, respectively, extended the CYLA lead to 12-6 late in the second half.

Superb second-half goalkeeping by Maddie Adams continued to frustrate the Andover attack, and the CYLA offense remained unrelenting. The Cobras finished the game with a bang, with scores by Martyn and Laura Evans, assisted by Kipke and Jourdan Jones, respectively, giving them a total of 14 goals by 10 different players in the emphatic victory.

“There are no cliques on this team,” said Coach Jones proudly of his team’s performance on this night and throughout the season. “The girls play as a team… They make the right choices at the right time, and they work hard making sure everyone contributes,” he concluded.