Indians girls lacrosse opens up season with big win over Bishop Stang
Apr 1, 2022
Dartmouth High girls lacrosse player Hannah Sullivan runs down field during the Indians season opener against Bishop Stang on April 1. Photos by: Christopher Shea
Players face off.
The Spartans bench celebrates their first goal of the game.
The Dartmouth High team raises their sticks ahead of the second half.
Sullivan gives Dartmouth High Coach Chris Tresca a fist bump after scoring a goal.
Bishop Stang Coach Alison Caito-Galligan chats with her team’s defensive players.
Dartmouth High’s girls lacrosse team certainly did not have any opening day jitters during their April 1 matchup against crosstown rival Bishop Stang.
The Indians kicked off their 2022 season with a 15-3 over the Spartans amid the splashes of rain throughout the evening at Memorial Stadium.
“These girls were ready to go,” Dartmouth High Head Coach Chris Tresca said. “I thought we had some really good energy coming onto the field and that obviously translated onto the game.”
The Indians brought the offense early, with senior Sorelle Lawton scoring just 12 seconds into the match. Dartmouth would end the half up 13-1, with nearly half of the goals being scored by Lawton.
“It really set the pace,” Lawton said. “But that’s always the game plan — no matter what the game is, come out as strong as we can.”
The senior captain added that what was not part of the initial game plan was dealing with the sudden temperature drop that came following the evening rain.
“For a little bit I couldn’t feel my pinky,” Lawton said with a laugh.
The scoring lessened in the second half as the rival Spartans defense managed to limit the Indians to just two additional goals.
Unfortunately for Stang, their offense was unable to get much past Dartmouth’s senior goalkeeper Molly Rioux, who had 11 saves on 14 shots faced.
“If we can make the shot not too easy, I always have confidence that [Rioux] will make the save,” Tresca said.
While a loss for the Spartans, Bishop Stang Coach Alison Caito-Galligan said she thought her squad put in a lot of good effort.
“The whole team really battled,” she said. “That second half, our girls really played well.”
Caito-Galligan took over Bishop Stang’s girls lacrosse program last month. While she and her team are still getting adjusted to each other, the new coach is optimistic about where the season can go.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “I’ve got a great group of girls I’m working with and I think we can definitely go after some teams this year.”
The Spartans will next play at Fairhaven High on Monday at 3:45 p.m.
The Indians will host Apponequet Regional High at Memorial Stadium on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
