Like I said, going back a bit for these. This was by far the most exciting high school game I have seen here in Windham. The Jaguars trailed for the entire game, never once having the lead and were down by two goals a number of times. In the end though, their offense came through in the final minutes scoring three goals late in the game including one with only about 3 seconds left to take the win. Best win of the year and put Windham into third place in DII in the State where they would stay. Literally showing their heart and blood to get the win.
Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Alvirne 04/18/22
I had not posted anything on the past Friday’s game—which was a 16-0 shutout of Kingswood who was supposed to be a decent team this year due to it being an evening game under what passed for “lights”. I quit taking pictures at the half as it just wasn’t worth it. I can crank the ISO and get shots that look fair on a .25” by .25” square but its not worth my time to even look through those let alone edit them…so into the trash they go.
Monday’s 15-2 win over Alvirne is a different story. At least there are some good shots from that game, as relatively uncompetitive as it was. Likely the most physical game of the year so far there were some decent hits given in both direction and a number of fouls as well. Windham kept up its heavy scoring attack and were kept to 15 goals by some great play by the Alvirne goalie who was their best player on the day. Despite the score, Windham got frustrated at times with the saves he was making to the point of trying trick shots and a number of skip shots to try and get past the keeper. Prior games saw Windham scoring on what appeared to be about 2/3 of their shots where here they got more shots off but only were scoring on about 40% if I had to guess.
Windham’s defense also had to play on its heals a bit more than in prior games with a number of “man down” situations. This was what was most notable as Windham’s D in these situations stood strong and kept the Alvirne shooters to the outside and frustrated their ability to get clean looks in a dangerous position. This bodes well for the remainder of the season if they can keep it up. Too often do High School lacrosse players allow shooters to get their arms and hands free vs. staying in the chest and hips of their opponents and here we saw great improvement in this area. Windham goalie Jack Milano was once again more than up to the task of saving the bulk of shots sent his way and remains an anchor in making smart and crisp passes out of the crease.
Wednesday brings what should (though I thought this of the Alvirne game too…) be the first big test of Windham’s season. Losing out in the first round of the ‘21 playoffs to Hollis-Brookline in a bitter 18-9 defeat, Windham will be out for a bit of redemption but as we saw last year where Windham came into the playoffs with a higher seed…nothing can be taken for granted.
Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Bow 04/12/22
Good game to start the year. 14-1 was the final score against an overmatched Bow team. Coming into the season Windham was ranked in the top 4 or 6 teams in DII and Bow in the bottom 6 or 8 so this was expected. Bow only managed three shots on goal for the game, was unable to control faceoffs and couldn’t force Windham turnovers. Offensively Windham looked strong on faceoffs which is key for them and while on the smaller side physically, Windham didn’t put a lot of balls on the ground, distributed the ball well resulting in balanced scoring from mid-distance chances (not many bombs that went in by luck and not many easy dumpins from up close—both of which are good signs) and stayed out of any need for physical play. The starters were in until about the final 5 minutes of the game and more than held their own in all phases of the game.
Friday’s upcoming night game on the road vs. Kingswood will be the early test of the season as the teams are ranked closely to start the year. That should give a better view at any cracks in the team’s capabilities and willingness to punch back when hit in the mouth.
Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Pinkerton 05/22/21
Men among boys I think is the phrase. In a game lost 17-4 and in which Windham went 0-23 on faceoffs and was completely dominated on both ends of the field, that’s the phrase that comes to mind. Unwilling or unable to match Pinkerton’s physical play, Windham did not have the skill to maneuver around the field to avoid it. Not that Pinkerton was unskilled themselves—far from it. Their passing and cutters to the net often went unchallenged. Deserving of their spot in the top teams of DI, Pinkerton showed Windham just how far they COULD improve. Its partly a matter of “do they want to?” and “are they willing to?” As noticed with Windham’s basketball team this year, facing adversity and physical play is not something bred into Windham players seemingly on a wide basis in the community, nor unfortunately, are the genetics that produce hulking 6 foot, 200 pound middies with quick feet, hard shots, and the attitude of a killer. So 10-6 they are with two games left vs. Goffstown this week before the tournament. Hopefully these serve as a good tune up and prepare them for action.
Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Salem 05/14/21
Running their record now to 8-5 with their 8th win in a row, this one, like the prior Salem game was easy. Never in doubt and little effort required on the part of the Windham defense—which is unfortunate as that is where they need the most work. This puts them squarely in the middle of the DII seedings for the end of year tournament.
Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Timberlane 05/13/21
Running their record to 7-5 this was a second win in three days vs. Timberlane. Not an easy win but they will take it. Offense seems to be solid and has rounded into nice shape with consistent faceoff wins, crisp passing and a number of players who can score off their own playmaking. Defense still needs work. I’d love to see more aggression, more bodywork, less stickwork. No opposing player has been scared about coming into the heart of Windham’s defense yet and that needs to change. Far too many players get off uncontested shots against Windham goalies. Seven wins in a row is solid and should see them in the middle of the pack for seeding come tournament time.
Windham Varsity Lacrosse vs. Dover 5/4/21
Well, well, well…it looks like we have a winning streak. Three games in a row to bring the record to 3-5. Certainly a happier team than the one that was 0-5. I had thought coming in that Dover would be a solid match for Windham as they too had been beat up by Winnacunnet and were a Division I team while Windham is a DII effort. This was not quite the test predicted though with Windham coming away with an 11-5 win. Again the ability to win faceoffs paid dividends over and over again in this game as did the recent addition of Chris Billone to the team. I’d also love to see Dan Charest be allowed to play more offense than simply running the ball across the midfield and then running off. His speed is a killer. Defense could still use a good deal of work as there is too much stickwork and not enough bodywork, positioning, and cutting of angles. But…I’ll take it for now as they begin a stretch of games that are well within their wheelhouse to win.
