Ghosts Eliminate Arlington in Girls' Lacrosse Prelims

What might have been a surprising girls' lacrosse upset turned out to be a routine win as the Grey Ghosts comfortably defeated the Spy Ponders of Arlington at home on Wednesday, 12-7.

The Spy Ponders got out to an early lead, scoring five goals in the first seven minutes of the contest, with sophomore Mary Grace grabbing a hat trick in a four minute span during that streak.

But Westford goaltender Kalie Boyd was able to rebound from the early setbacks, holding the Spy Ponders to only one more goal in the half while the Ghosts clawed their way to a two point lead at halftime.

"We were asleep, but thankfully they picked it up after a time out and they were able to control the field," said Westford Academy head coach Julie Olivier. "I told the girls 'stop panicking', just put your head down and take a few deep breaths."

The Ghosts continued their dominance in a fairly quiet second half, allowing only one more goal, which was netted by Cronin with only 47 seconds on the clock.

"(Arlington) gave it their all, but they had alot of heart and have had alot of heart this season," said Arlington head coach Brianna Cronin. "Tough game, we just needed to hold it a little better in the middle and we would have been fine."

Cronin had five of the Spy Ponders seven goals, with two coming from senior Colleen Kane, while the Grey Ghosts got hat tricks from Bailey Mongillo and Stacey Shackleton. 

Westford will now play either third ranked Reading or 11th ranked Lowell on Saturday.