Girls Lacrosse defeated Foxboro 18-6 on April 26 to give them an 8-1 record this season, with their only loss coming from a close matchup with Wellesley. According to the Boston Herald, the Rebels are currently ranked fourth in Eastern Massachusetts, just behind rival Wellesley (third), Norwell (second) and Notre Dame Academy (first).
“It’s a really great feeling to be ranked so high. All of our determination, hard work and early morning practices are leading to results that prove we are a strong team,” junior GiGi Anello said.
Walpole took an early lead in the game versus Foxboro with senior captain Audra Tosone scoring two quick goals on Foxboro goalie Sara Addeche. While the scoring run continued for the Rebels, the Warriors had trouble in their offensive zone with tight defense by Walpole and saves coming from junior goaltender Laura Giovaniello. Walpole led 14-3 at the end of the first half and added four more goals to that in the last 25 minutes of the game.
“Going into the game, we knew Foxboro would be a strong team. They have many good players and a few very exceptional and skilled players,” Tosone said. “Despite the score of the game, Foxboro was still a strong team, but we were able to score early and stop them quickly.”
The team has found its success so far this season by focusing on the basic fundamentals of the game instead of the complicated strategies some other teams use.
“Our coach tries to stress playing as hard and as smart as possible, and he says that if we do that, then everything else will work itself out,” junior captain Sydney Scales said.
Along with his emphasis on hard work, Head Coach Mike Tosone stresses the desire for improvement in each aspect of the game.
“We are a good team, no doubt. That being said, there is always room for improvement in every area of the game. It would be boring if there was no room to get better,” Coach Tosone said. The specific area of the game the team looks to improve is defense.
This year, all four defenders, junior Ainsley Dundon, sophomore Liz Hinton and freshmen Natalie Griffin and Jess Tosone, are first-year starters at the varsity level. Dundon and Hinton received little playing time last year, as the defensive end was held down by mostly upperclassmen, so they had big shoes to fill.
“We still need to improve on our fast break defense since we have so many new and young players, but they have done great so far and are getting better and better everyday,” Audra Tosone said.
In the past few years, the Rebels have made a name for themselves statewide, starting in 2017 when the team became the D2 Runner-Up in the State Championship. Despite moving up to D1 last year, the team continued their dominance and became the Runner-Up yet again. With the talent and dedication from the members of the team, the captains look to use each win as a confidence builder and claim the D1 State Championship trophy for the first time in program history.
“After being so close the past few years, we have definitely had lots of experience in close games and now we need to put all of the pieces together to bring home the trophy,” Scales said.
Following their game versus Foxboro, the Rebels have gone 3-0 to give them an overall record of 11-1. Their next conference game is May 14, where they will travel to Weymouth High to face the Wildcats at 5 p.m.