Westwood girls (14-1) hold off Cohasset

HIGH SCHOOLS

Cohasset’s Avery Regan, center, takes her shot on Westwood’s Kathryn Donnellan, left, as Casidy McMillin, right, hits Regan as Westwood takes on Cohasset in girls lacrosse play on May 7. STAFF PHOTO BY STUART CAHILL — BOSTON HERALD

Westwood’s Jenny Mackin gets knocked down by Cohasset’s Libby Schiffmann (behind) as Westwood takes on Cohasset in girls lacrosse on May 7. STAFF PHOTO BY STUART CAHILL — BOSTON HERALD

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By Jack Murray

Correspondent

WESTWOOD >> A balanced scoring attack from Westwood helped lead the team to a 14-11 girls lacrosse victory over Cohasset.

Both teams entered the game with only a single loss on the season. Westwood (14-1) was ranked No. 4 in Division 2 and Cohasset (10-2) occupied the top spot in Division 4.

While the teams won’t meet in the postseason, Westwood coach Margot Spatola said the level of play was reminiscent of a playoff matchup.

“That’s exactly why we play each other,” Spatola said. “Even if we had lost that game, we would have learned a lot. We need games like that to help prepare us moving forward.”

The Wolverines were the first to get on the board when CeCe Thurmond found the back of the net in the opening minute. Moments later, Caroline Nozzolillo found twine.

“We had to set the tone early,” Nozzolillo said. “Knowing that we have to come out fast and set that tone because that is a great team.”

Cohasset quickly responded with three straight goals from Molly Campbell, Emily Regan and Reese Hansen to take their only lead. While this could have been panic time for the Wolverines, Spatola said her team had understood the situation.

“We did a nice job of focusing in the moment,” Spatola said. “We were not worrying about a goal we had just let up or what they were doing. It really helped us stay ahead.”

The Wolverines quickly tied it off the stick of Cassidy McMillin and then goals from Nozzolillo, Charlotte DeMaio and Thurmond gave them a 6-3 lead. The teams then traded goals before a run from the Skippers cut the deficit to 8-7 at halftime.

The third quarter was where the Wolverines broke through as they outscored the Skippers 4-1 and entered the final quarter with a 12-8 lead. Nozzolillo credited the depth scoring for this surge.

“We have confidence in everyone to catch and finish,” Nozzolillo said. “They were able to adapt to the pace quickly and that was huge for us today.”

Cohasset pushed in the final quarter but Wolverines goalie Kathryn Donnellan was able to make several key stops and limit the damage.

“She has been great,” Spatola said of Donellan. “She’s had a really great season and she has put in the work to really be a good goalie. She’s very focused on it and we are very fortunate to have her.”

Nozzolillo led all scorers with five goals, Thurmond had four and Cohasset’s Avery Regan and Kate Greer each had three.

“These games are the type of games we are going to see in the tournament,” Nozzolillo said. “It’s great that we have them on the schedule and so we can know what to expect and anticipate the pressure.”