High School Girls Lacrosse Preview: Cannondale and Silvermine Poised to Continue Conference Title Runs
The Cannondale School will have a rare chip on their shoulders this season. After winning three successive conference championship titles, the team's top rival Silvermine Academy took home the trophy last June. The 12-11 overtime decision was certainly on both teams' minds during the offseason.
The Cannondale School has playmakers all over the field, starting with captain Delaney Xie in the goal, Chandler England dominating at midfield, and Kelsey Jackman leading the attack. There are no visible areas of weakness for this formidable team.
The Silvermine Academy graduated a number of key players but will return with a strong lineup that has both the skill and confidence to make a run at a second straight conference title. The offense will be potent with Marissa Humphry and Ashley Morgan ready to take charge, with Humphry also on the center circle.
Cannondale will face Silvermine on April 26, which could easily be the fiercest match-up of the season.
10 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN THE LEAGUE
Macallan Blake, Cannondale
Anna Caan, Winsor
Chandler England, Cannondale
Julia Harmon, Deerfield
Marissa Humphry, Silvermine
Kelsey Jackman, Cannondale
Ashley Morgan, Silvermine
Paige Turner, Groton
Sloane Vaught, Winsor
Delaney Xie, Cannondale
I swiped out of the article on my phone and glanced up at my teammates standing around me at the home bench of the turf. Our Thursday's captain's practice had just wrapped up when sophomore Libby Seymour sent the link in our team's group chat, and we'd all stopped packing up our gear to read it.
"Damn right there are no visible areas of weakness for this formidable team," I declared with a purposeful flick of my braid.
The rivalry between the Cannondale School and Silvermine Academy was intense. Silvermine was another prestigious Boston boarding school that also had competitive athletic programs, and the games against them were the ones that would draw in throngs of energized students who wouldn't otherwise sit in the bleachers.
"That'll be the first of many articles from The Russell Report," Delaney said, placing her helmet inside of her goalie bag and zipping it up. "Vale emailed Grayson, Trip, and me to have us stop by his office tomorrow to do interviews with Brett Russell himself."
"The man, the myth, the sports journalist who's dedicated his career to high school sports," Kelsey proclaimed dramatically and I snorted.
The Russell Report was a popular online newspaper covering Suffolk County high school athletics, but it emphasized the private schools in the Boston area. Every article Russell published about our team featured my name, though that didn't mean he wrote about me in glowing terms.
"And Trip McKenna," Macallan piped up, poking me in the hip with the butt of her stick. "That article Russell wrote on him last season could've passed as a love letter. You might have competition, Chan."
"You're hilarious, Mac," I deadpanned as I unbraided my ponytail and ran my fingers through the loose waves. Deciding to deflect, I recalled one of my postgame interviews for The Russell Report. "Russell once asked me how I felt about other players in the league saying I'm unnecessarily aggressive on the draw. The guy is a total gossip-monger."
YOU ARE READING
The Halo Effect
Teen FictionWhen star lacrosse player Chandler England's best friend and teammate is targeted by vicious gossip, she learns that not everyone at her prestigious boarding school is ready to come to her defense. Unfortunately, this seems to include the elusively...
