EASTON — Morgan Quade is closing on two impressive milestones.
And though Saints Peter and Paul High’s senior star said she has not felt pressure from others, she admits she’d like to score her 200th career goal, notch her 400th career point and move forward.
“It will be a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Quade said.
Quade almost slipped those weights off her shoulders in Monday afternoon’s heat, scoring six goals and setting up another to help the Sabres’ girls lacrosse team to its 11th straight win via a 12-5 victory over North Caroline.
“I’m trying to not focus on it and just let it happen naturally, but it’s hard,” said Quade, who is one goal shy of 200 and five points short of 400. “I’ve definitely been in my own head about it. It’s not like other people pressuring or anything. It’s hard to keep it up.”
Monday’s high temperatures — it was 89 before the opening draw — may have been one of the reasons why Quade did not start the game. The heat took a toll on a number of players, including Sabres sophomore Caroline Ewing, who scored three goals and set up another to help Sts. Peter & Paul (11-1) carry a 4-2 lead into halftime.
“I think today we definitely started off slow,” said Quade of a game that was tied 2-2 after one quarter. “We haven’t played in heat like this. I think that was part of it. But after halftime we really got on a roll there and we were moving the ball fast. Once we move the ball and find people open it’s just a matter of time.”
Sabres head coach Alison Beyer agreed the afternoon heat was a contributing element in her team not getting off to its usual fast start.
“The heat was a huge factor,” Beyer said. “We haven’t played in this heat and once we got accustomed to the heat we had to regroup, reset and we came back out and played like we play.”
Ewing (three goals, two assists) scored on a free-position chance 43 seconds into the second quarter, then set up Quade’s first goal a little less than 2 minutes later to give Sts. Peter & Paul its two-goal halftime edge.
Both Sts. Peter & Paul goalie Kylie Kroniser and North Caroline’s Ashley Lawry made a slew of big saves throughout the first half to keep the game close.
But the Sabres started finding openings in the Bulldogs defense in the third quarter, turning a two-goal lead into a five-goal cushion heading into the fourth.
“I feel like we play our game,” Beyer said. “And I think our game is like trivial. It’s like, ‘Let’s see what we can do. Let’s try this. That’s not working. OK, let’s try this.’
“It’s not that we can’t do anything because we know we can,” Beyer continued. “It’s like, ‘Let’s test them. We haven’t seen this team before. Let’s see what they can do, and see what we can do in reference to what they’re doing’. And that’s what we did.”
Quade set up Eden Zimmerman’s first goal 49 seconds into the third quarter. Eden Zimmerman scored her second goal with 8:37 left in the third for a 6-2 lead. Quade then gained possession behind the net, swept left, hit the brakes and wheeled in from the right side for a goal a little over a minute later.
Ashley Kercheval ended North Caroline’s 25-minute, 36-second scoring drought with 1:21 left in the period to make it 7-3. But Quade responded with her third goal with 3 seconds left in the quarter.
“I expected a different outcome,” North Caroline head coach Mandie Shockley said after the Bulldogs slipped 7-4. “I think we are 100 percent capable of winning that game. I think the areas that we continue to struggle in are the areas that cause the losses. But a tight game, or a two-goal game after an entire half tells me we are capable of winning these games. And it’s just a matter of time before it clicks for them. I think a lot of it is mental. It’s not like we don’t have the talent.”
Shockley was encouraged her team held Sts. Peter & Paul to its lowest goal output since its 16-9 season-opening loss to St. Mary’s. But North Caroline couldn’t trim its deficit any further in the fourth. Emery Zimmerman weaved through traffic down the middle of the field for a goal and a 9-3 lead with 9:11 remaining. Quade slung a sidearm shot in on a free-position opportunity with a little under 7 minutes to play, moving the Sabres to a 10-3 lead.
Riley Walstrum’s goal with 4:14 left reduced the Bulldogs’ deficit to six. But Ewing connected with Quade for a score just 18 seconds later. Quade added her sixth goal with 3:12 to go before Reece Bisesi scored the game’s final goal with 50 seconds remaining.
“I was concerned,” Beyer said. “After the first quarter I said, ‘Let’s play with some consistency. Let’s play our solid game.’ After that first quarter I think we settled in and came back out and played our game.”
BASEBALL
NORTH DORCHESTER 20, CAMBRIDGE-SD 0
CAMBRIDGE — TJ Leonard tripled twice, driving in two runs and scoring two, and freshman Gage Kral tossed three innings of no-hit ball Monday, as the Eagles rolled in four innings.
Kral struck out six of the 10 batters he faced. Sophomore Manny Reyes had two hits and scored three runs for North Dorchester (7-7), Vernon Price (2 for 2) scored three runs, and Nate Fraccaroli (two RBIs) and Nate Swann (RBI) each had two hits and two runs.
SOFTBALL
QUEEN ANNE’S 9, KENT ISLAND 6
STEVENSVILLE — Autumn Huber doubled in a run and Abbie Denes drove in another, both in the eighth inning Monday, as the Lions rallied from a four-run deficit Monday to defeat the Buccaneers.
Huber was 3 for 4 to lead Queen Anne’s 13-hit attack, and Camaryn Jacobi and Denes each had multi-hit games.
Hannah Martin earned the win in relief. Queen Anne’s tied the game in the top of the fourth, when Keira Corcoran stole home, Jacobi singled, and Caroline Taylor doubled.
Lizzie McConnell tripled for Kent Island and Haven Applefeld singled.
Most Popular
Comments / 0