Nauset Girls Connect To Best Bishop Stang

NORTH EASTHAM – The Nauset girls lacrosse team had a hole to fill during its April vacation week game against Bishop Stang High School. 

With the team’s second-leading scorer, senior captain Zoe Labdon, absent Thursday, it was on junior captain Julia Kipperman to step up along with other players, according to head coach Heather Stevens. 

Led by eight goals from Kipperman, short-handed Nauset beat the Spartans 12-7.

Kipperman, a midfielder, said the Warriors were “connecting today.”

“As a team today, we just felt as one, and it was just really nice for the team to come together and just play great,” she said.

Senior captain Abby Powers scored twice, while senior Cleo Donovan and sophomore Megan Sullivan each scored once. Junior goalkeeper Norah Swanson had nine saves.

“Our team just has a lot of trust in each other, which leads to these kinds of games and winning these big games that we have now,” Kipperman said. 

Powers, a midfielder, said Nauset “came out strong,” taking advantage of possession and using opportunities on breakaways off draws to score. “I just think our team is getting more and more reliable, which is important, and I think that just being able to count on each other will help us in the future,” she said.

Nauset led 4-1 after the first quarter before Bishop Stang came back to tie the score 5-5 at halftime. Nauset outscored the Spartans 7-2 in the second half. The Warriors also outdrew Bishop Stang 13-10 throughout the game. 

Sophomore Lucy Powers said the game showed how the Warriors have “improved as a team,” working together and holding possession especially. 

“We’ve been working on it, and I think that we just did a lot better with that today,” she said.

The Warriors also held defensively against a long Bishop Stang possession during the first quarter. The Spartans controlled the ball for nearly eight minutes but couldn’t score.

“We’ve been using our bench, [and] I’m proud to say they’ve stepped up as well, so just the defense working together has been really good,” Stevens said.

The win brought Nauset to 3-4. Stevens said the Warriors have a “very challenging” schedule.

“I think the wins where we can get them are needed,” Stevens said. “Close games where we can get them are needed. I think these two wins this week definitely, I’m hoping, will boost their confidence up, and they play hard and they play together so I’m hoping to build on that.”

The Warriors last year went 10-8 and won a round of 32 game against St. Mary’s High School in the Division 3 state tournament. The expectation, according to Kipperman, is to get another postseason win this year. The Warriors are “really starting to find the click” to the team, she said.

“We’re here for each other, and we just have a lot of fun, which makes it easier for us to play as a team,” Kipperman said.

A three-game week awaits the Warriors right after the April break.

“We’re hoping to go into these next few games with confidence, and hopefully we can win those too and just start a little streak going and just keep our season going strong,” Abby Powers said.