Heading into Tuesday night’s contest with its biggest rival, the University School of Milwaukee’s (USM) girl’s lacrosse team was averaging almost 17 goals a game with an undefeated season on the line.
However, the Whitefish Bay/Nicolet/Shorewood (WNS) co-op has staked its success on staunch defense, and the Wolfpack stifled its Classic 8 foe in a 9-3 victory at USM’s Liz Krieg Field.
“I think personally that our defense is the heart of our program,” WNS coach Meredith Donaldson said. “We have really tried to make that be the case in the three years since I came here.”
WNS (6-0, 3-0 Classic 8) relied on the suffocating defense led by sophomore rover Lauren Lex, who took on some of the most difficult defensive assignments of the night and handled them with no problems.
“I have never seen a defensive player stop an attacker with a head full of steam just like that on a dime quite like Lex does,” Donaldson said.
When the Wildcats managed to break through, junior goalie Lia Oren was there to stop them. The 2016 All-State goaltender saved 12 shots for the Wolfpack.
“She was the best in the state last year and she’s getting a lot better, which is great for us,” Lex said.
The Wildcats remained in striking distance as the Wolfpack held a 5-2 lead at the 17 minute, 51 second mark in the second half. That was a before patch of artificial turf came loose toward one end of Krieg Field, causing a delay of approximately 10 minutes.
Once play resumed, the Wolfpack’s offense went to work. Freshman Lauren Flemma scored two goals in 30 seconds in the 12th minute to extend the Wolfpack’s lead to 7-2.
“We call her a little mini truck because she can go zero to 60 in two seconds flat, she is strong and powerful, and she’s a smart player,” Donaldson said. “Seeing her come out of the box like that as a freshman is really fun to watch.”
Junior Brooke Weber led the Wolfpack with three goals, and sophomore Aubrey McLaren added two for WNS.
For USM, coach Samantha Adey said the familiarity of the two teams were an issue for her Wildcats. Junior Grace Berrien managed to score twice on the Wolfpack, but USM couldn’t adjust to the backer defense WNS played throughout the game.
“They play a lot in the offseason with a lot of the kids on our team, so they know their strengths,” Adey said. “We weren’t able to adapt well and make changes to what was comfortable for us, so we know we need to be a little more versatile when presented with our favorite moves being taken away.”
Next up for WNS is a road game at 5 p.m., Thursday at Mukwonago. USM heads to Kettle Moraine for a 5 p.m. opening draw on Thursday, as well.
