By Doug Boyle
Staff Writer

The Westford Academy girls’ lacrosse team is headed to the state tournament, finishing a fantastic regular season with a record of 19-1.

The team had high expectations for the year, but nobody could have predicted the extremities to how successful this year has been. They qualified for the state tournament only ten games into the season and won the Dual County League Large title only sixteen games into the year. The clinching of this title, came with one of their most prominent wins of the season, as the Lady Ghosts beat Lincoln Sudbury in a close game, 13-12. The success of this team doesn’t go unnoticed, opponents strive to take down the undefeated team, but it has only made Westford stronger.

“It’s definitely pressure to to keep our winning streak alive,” said senior captain Bailey Mongillo. “You have this target on your back, every game going in, every team is trying to knock you off. It’s hard to face these difficult opponents but it has also made us tougher as a unit.”

Mongillo has been phenomenal during her four years at WA, scoring an amazing 369 goals in her career. Mongillo, after not being heavily recruited last year, decided to attend Villanova University for academics, and now Mongillo hopes to walk-on the lacrosse team at the school.

However, the team is not a one man show. Other senior captains Leah Giacalone and Taylor Freud have had a great last season for WA. The defense has also been strong all year led by juniors Hailey MacDonald, Ali Garvin, and goalie Kalie Boyd.

The team has eight returning seniors, so strong leadership and experience has been a large contirbutor to the team’s achievements. Also, the team has another ten juniors who played on the varsity squad last year. The only two new additions are freshman Ellie Diamond and sophomore Allie Skahen. This team is so experienced and believe they are able to run and play smoothly together as a unit.

“Well for the past two years,” said Mongillo, “we’ve basically had the same team besides two seniors last year. We’ve been playing together, most of us, since third grade. We really have a chemistry and connection on the field that many teams don’t have so were able to perform well.”

The team also thinks that their strong connection as friends helps with their compatibility on the field.  They know that there is high pressure but they think they are powerful enough to win regardless.

“We are nervous because we are expected to go really far,” said senior Kathryn Oliver, “but excited because we know we are capable of going really far.”