The girls lacrosse team has become a force to be reckoned with within the CAL. Currently the team stands at 9-1 in the CAL, with a total record of 11-1. The team has secured the number one spot in division 4 by playing and beating various higher division teams.  The question is: How have they become so successful this season?

When watching the tigers, one would say the key to their success is their goalie: Ashton Flather. The senior goalie is a 2nd year captain, was awarded first team CAL all star, Salem News all star, and was named MVP by her team in 2022. Most recently she racked up 400 career saves during the girls senior night last thursday. Ashton believes that the success of the team comes from “the exceptional level of teamwork and companionship” that this year’s team has. She also notes that “the strength of the underclassmen has really allowed for the team to catch opponents off guard and come up with a strong win with help from lots of talented players.” The strength of the freshman class comes from attacker Allie Wile, defender Lucy Donahue, defender Jade Wilcox, and attacker Lyla Greenfleaf. Their presence on the field has continuously made a difference, leading the tigers to that number one spot. 

Additionally, leading the tigers is their coach Allison Tivnan, and four captains Ashton, Kayden, Lexi, and Estelle. This is Tivans third year coaching the varsity team and hopes this is the year they make it to the state championship game. “Our first goal was to take the CAL. We  have achieved that goal so now we’re on to the next,” says Tivnan. The Tigers played and beat Hamilton-Wenham on Saturday morning to be Baker CAL Champs, after additionally defeating rivals Manchester-Essex the previous week in a gritty battle. The Tigers have been following the saying “We before me,” meaning that on the field we must work together as one team, rather than as a bunch of individuals. 

When looking more closely at the success of the Tigers you must consider the defense. Leading the defense is Ashton in goal with starting defenders Jade Wilcox, Lucy Donahue, Morgan Sexton, and Avery Brown. At the beginning of the season the defense lost senior captain Lexi Wright due to injury but quickly filled her position, remaining as the best defense in the CAL for the second season in a row. Right now the Tigers are ranked number one for goals against, which is a prime example of how good this defense really is. In the midfield you see Ella Stein, Halle Greenleaf, and Lucy Winthrop who help successfully move the ball up the field and win the draw to move the ball into the attacking end. Not only do the Tigers triumph on the defensive end. Seen on the attacking end are starters Estelle Gromko, Carolyn Bailey, Kayden Flather, and Allie Wile. Estelle Gromko leads the attacking unit with 100 career points, alongside Halle Greenleaf who leads the team in ground balls and draw controls. Tivana says, “There is no single game changer on this team. Everyone contributes equally and consistently which is the key to us being so successful this season.”

The Tigers will close out the season playing Danvers, Manchester-Essex, Winchester, and Beverly. “Winning these games will put us in a great position to be the number one seed for division 4,” says Tivnan.