Sports

Back-to-Wins for Hartland Ladies Lacrosse

Double dip wins against Huron Valley and Flint Powers Catholic.

By Aaron Skomial

Varsity

The Hartland Women’s lacrosse team had back to back games on Wednesday and Thursday night this week. Thursday was senior night and it celebrated the careers of these long-time friends. Hartland will be sending twelve seniors to bigger and better things at the end of the season. There will be some big shoes to fill next year, but the future looks bright for everyone involved.

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Wednesday night had Hartland taking on Huron Valley. The first meeting between these two teams provided an entertaining game and a win for Hartland. Would the re-match be just as entertaining?  Both teams played well and Hartland produced another win by posting a 17-10 defeat of Huron Valley.

Hartland produced another diverse group of scoring talent. Nine players scored, with Ryan Skomial leading the way with a six goal effort. Prior to the game, Ryan was honored as Athlete of the Week. Rachael Sharpe followed with three goals and Courtney Lee added two as well. Haley Crouse, Amber Crouse, Rachel Gibbs, Taylor Pryde, Sara Barnett, and Natalie Sochaki all put in one goal each to round out the scoring effort. The defense provided another good effort and Tabitha Ferguson was strong in goal.  

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Thursday night Hartland hosted the mighty Chargers from Flint Powers Catholic.  Flint Powers is well coached and the team has some real talent on their team.  Hartland exploded for a 22-9 victory over a good program. At half time, Hartland led 13-5.  

Flint Powers was unable to slow the attack as each and every girl was determined to bring home a win for the seniors.  Ryan Skomial led all scorers with six goals and two assists.  Natalie Sochaki, Amber and Haley Crouse (yep, they’re sisters) followed with three goals each.  Rachael Sharpe and Amy Longe contributed with two goals each.  Abbey Tierney, Annie Quinn, and Courtney Lee added one goal each.

The defense played a great game and they continued to gradually get better as the season has progressed.  Tabitha Ferguson stood strong in net and continued to impress.

The last five minutes of the game featured every senior on the field at the same time. It was a special night to be remembered.  

The state tournament starts soon and it seems as if this team is starting to get its stride as the warmer weather is approaching.   Hartland will be hosting East Grand Rapids on Monday at 7pm.  EGR is the top team in the state according to Laxpower.com.  EGR is undefeated and this game will be quite a test for the women’s lacrosse team.  

Junior Varsity

Win one…. Lose one.

The junior squad continued to try and keep up with the varsity team, but just fell short on Thursday night.  On Wednesday, Hartland JV defeated Huron Valley 15-4.  Kristina Hollis and Adrian Martino led with four goals each. Analiese Kulpanowski and Madison Light added two goals each.  Hartland had seven different players score.  

On Thursday, Hartland ran up against some stiff competition as Flint powers were able to defeat Hartland 9-8.  With two minutes left, Faye Bontekoe tied the game 8-8 for Hartland. The Chargers gained possession and scored on a free shot to go ahead with about 1 minute left. Powers gained possession and ran out the clock to end the game.  

Analiese Kulpanowski led with 3 goals. Kristina Hollis scored two goals and was recognized by the coach from Flint Powers with the “Keepers of the Game” award for strong play. Next game is on Monday at 5:30pm against EGR.


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