A win was so close for Clarkston’s girls lacrosse team Friday, they could touch it. After putting down several Waterford rallies, the Wolves appeared headed to their first win of the season.
But instead, Waterford’s Rachel Newill scored the game winner with 41.7 seconds left to lift Waterford (1-4) to its first victory.
Clarkston led 10-8 with 6:54 remaining in the second half before Waterford strung together three unanswered goals to pull out an 11-10 win at Waterford.
Clarkston (0-5) had two good shot attempts in the final seconds. Kelsey Reardon was denied on a free shot and Mickayla Meola took the rebound around the back of the net and hurried a backhand shot, which found the right goalpost. Waterford cleared the ball as time expired.
‘I was hoping that would have gone in. But it doesn’t come down to just that. There are other things in the game that led up to that. Our goalie took a lot of shots at the end and if you give somebody enough free shots on the goal, they’re going to score. Overall, this is the best game I’ve seen them play. It’s a huge improvement,? Clarkston coach Kaitlyn Sitar said.
‘Their passing was the best I’ve seen, they really transitioned up the field really well and looked for the open man. They kept their checking under control.?
Newill had the Wolves? number in the second half, scoring a game-high four goals in that span. Stephanie Kincaid and Lauren Fredericksen each had two goals for the Wolves.
Waterford coach Adria Toth said Newill, a freshman, has put in plenty of time at the lower levels to be a success on the varsity program.
‘She’s always been a hard-worker. She comes out to every practice and works her butt off. She deserves it,? Toth said.
‘We can put her on offense or defense, or we can put her in goal. Anything she does, she attacks it and she does well.?
Clarkston held a lead of as many as five goals early in the second half. They opened the game on a 4-0 run in the first 10 minutes of the contest and held a 6-3 advantage going into halftime.
Coaches on both sidelines agreed their teams played as competitive as they have seen this season.
‘We had a scrimmage where we did very well, but nothing this close. They played the best they have after getting down and coming back and not letting a four-goal deficit bother them. I’m really proud of them,? Toth said.
Clarkston coach Steve Reardon was happy with the Wolves? rebounding from a 21-0 loss to Birmingham Unified the night before.
‘We were much improved. Considering last night’s game, they came back strong. There was great passing, they dug into it. It’s just very disheartening. This is a tough loss,? he said.