Golden Eagles girls lacrosse wins first-round game

By RICHIE HALL
sports@readthereporter.com

NOBLESVILLE – Guerin Catholic won its first-round game in the Indiana girls lacrosse playoffs on Friday, May 8, beating Noblesville 19-1 in an all-county contest at the Golden Eagles’ field.

Top-seeded Guerin Catholic was in control the entire way, leading 6-0 after one quarter and 11-0 at halftime. Caroline Ford put in three goals during the first half.

Golden Eagles coach Joe Bellflower credited his team with “just playing our game today” and hopes the victory will give the team momentum for a deep tournament run.

“We’ve been playing really well since we played the Springboro game,” said Bellflower. “Our offense just seems to be clicking better but still staying strong on defense.”

The Golden Eagles led 17-0 after three periods. The Millers scored their goal in the fourth quarter, with Abby Hancock getting the goal.

“We’re a really young team,” said Noblesville coach Morgan Soderholm. “The majority of our starters are freshmen and sophomores. We came into this season knowing we were going to take every opportunity to grow. We had the best senior leaders possible to create that vision. They have supported each other the whole time, and I think that positivity, the hard work ethic that they have built is going to be great for next year.”

Ford totaled four goals for Guerin Catholic, adding one in the third quarter. Claire Flannagan scored three goals. Lucy Esposito, Camryn Carter, Corinne Karlander and Reagan Kaercher all put in two goals. Claire Poe, Mackenzie Ford, Adele Cline and Lauren Keller each scored one goal.

The Golden Eagles play their quarterfinal game this week against the winner of the Saturday, May 9 contest between Hamilton Southeastern and Culver Academies (that game was played after press time). A date and time for the quarterfinal will be announced early this week.

Noblesville’s Tynleigh Wattenbarger prepares to throw the ball during the game. (Mike Navarro)