What turned out to be a memorable day for the Rutland High School girls lacrosse team may have been an unforgettable day for Rutland senior Hannah Wright.
Wright, who plays attack, collected a game-high three goals to propel Rutland past Mount Anthony, 6-5, last week in a game that featured the two best girls lacrosse teams in the state.
Wright’s third goal, which gave the Raiders a 6-4 lead with 1:49 left in regulation, was the 100th of her high school career. It was also the only time either team enjoyed more than a one-goal lead.
"She's an amazing player, a great athlete," Rutland coach Jane O'Neill told the Rutland Herald. "She's tenacious, goes for it and it's just a great day for her."
“The thing is I didn’t know I was anywhere near 100 until someone congratulated me,” Wright added.
Mount Anthony’s Kristen Carra made it a 6-5 game with 1:02 left, but the Patriots failed to put another shot on goal.
The victory raised Rutland’s record to 11-1. The Raiders are now 13-1 and alone at the top of the Division I standings. Mount Anthony, which fell to 9-2 following the loss, entered this week with an 11-2 record. Every other Division I team has at least four losses.
"What I told her (O'Neill) is, 'You took the ball away from us more in the second half than we took it away from you,' and that's the name of the game,” Mount Anthony coach Tom Otero said. “Force the turnovers and that was the difference."
Baseball: Lyndon Institute aiming for perfection
Lyndon Institute remained the only unbeaten baseball team in the state by beating Montpelier, 4-1, Tuesday. The victory raised the Vikings’ Division II record to 14-0.
Lyndon Institute lost to Mount Abraham in last year’s Division II championship game, but returned its entire pitching staff. While staff ace Buddy Lamothe has earned most of the headlines this season, Brenden Davis was the star in the victory over Montpelier.
Davis was working on a perfect game until he allowed a hit and a walk in the sixth inning. He finished with 10 strikeouts. Lamothe pitched a clean seventh.
“Brenden pitched a great game today,” Lyndon Institute coach Justin Smith told the Northeast Sports Network. “Offensively we got some key hits.”
Lyndon Institute received two hits from Robert Trucott and a two-run double from Kyle Greenwood.
The Vikings will complete their regular-season schedule with road games against Lamoille (1-13) and U-32 (9-5) this week.
Softball: Harwood suffers first loss
Randolph’s 7-6 triumph over previously unbeaten Harwood on Saturday left Essex (13-0 in Division I) as the only undefeated softball team in the state.
Randolph (9-5) trailed 4-1, but scored six runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Emily Beaudin and Mikki Delia each had three hits for Randolph, which received a complete-game pitching performance from Arielle Connolly.
Ashley Sweet collected three hits for Harwood, which is 13-1 and trails only Otter Valley in the Division II standings.
