After starting the season 1-4, the Marblehead High girls lacrosse team has since rattled off three straight wins to even its record at four that began with topping Masco in a high scoring encounter, 13-12.
The Magicians went on to dominate host Gloucester on April 23, 14-5. They also held a commanding 10-1 advantage at halftime.
Maddie Forbes (1 goal, 1 caused turnover, 1 draw control), Ramona Gillett (3 goals, 1 assist, 1 caused turnover, 1 ground ball, 2 draw controls), Kathryn Commoss (1 goal 2 assists), Gretchen Smith (1 goal), Chloe Rowland (1 goal, 1 assist), Caroline Scroope (1 goal), Cassidy Lubeck (2 assists), Sydney Shull (2 goals), Caitlyn Ryan (1 goal, 1 ground ball), Whitney Jellison (2 goals 1 draw control), Sofia Grubor (1 goal), Sammy Walker (1 ground ball, 2 draw control), Jack Whalen (1 interception, 1 ground ball) and Maddy Bontaites (1 assist, 1 ground ball) contributed mightily to this victory over the Fishermen. Goalie Molly Bullard did her part making five saves.
Two days later, the Marblehead girls defeated visiting Salem, 13-1 in the Move4Heather Game, named after the foundation that Heather Walker’s family setup in honor of her. The mother of two daughters passed away last April from brain cancer.
“In July 2021, Heather Walker, Senior VP of Public Relations for the Boston Celtics and a fun-loving, free-spirted wife and mom of two young daughters, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer: glioblastoma. In the face of this challenge, Heather immediately thought of how she could help others, and so she started the Heather Walker Fund for Glioblastoma Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, managed by her neuro-oncologist, Dr. David Reardon. Heather sadly lost her battle with glioblastoma on April 26, 2023,” said girls lacrosse coach Annie Madden.
“We played this game against Salem in honor of Heather and the Walker family, including her daughter Sammy, who plays on the team this year,” Madden added. “Sammy had an outstanding game for us against Salem, which truly would have made her mother proud.”
Team captains Kate Burns and Caroline Scroope provided a joint statement for the fans who showed up for the game. They said, “Thank you all for being here. From this Move4Heather game, we hope to carry on Heather’s legacy and bring awareness to brain cancer research by moving for Heather. Go for a walk, do something on your bucket list and give to Dana-Farber (Jimmy Fund) in honor of Heather.”
Heather’s daughter Sammy then spoke for her family: “Hi everyone. I want to say thanks for your support today, and doing this game for my mom. It really means a lot to me and my family. It’s events like this that will keep her legacy and awareness for brain cancer going. You will never meet anyone ever like her, and I was the luckiest person to be her daughter. She always wanted me to do what made me happy, and she would be so proud to see how far I’ve come today. So, I thank you all very much for letting this game happen,” she said.
Sammy was one of the leading offensive contributors against the Witches after accounting for three goals and one assist. Rachel Delisle (1 assist), Cassidy Lubeck (3 goals), Gretchen Smith (1 goal), Caitlin Ryan (1 goal), Forbes (1 goal, 1 assist), Gillett (1 goal, 1 assist) and Commoss (3 goals, 4 assists) also figured prominently on offense during this memorable triumph.
After the win over Salem, the Magicians went up against Beverly on April 29 before heading to Danvers to take on the Falcons tomorrow on May 2, starting at 4 p.m. They will then return home to face non-league Reading on Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m.
Joe McConnell
