LAKEVILLE — Apponequet’s girl’s lacrosse team is on its way to logging another successful season into the books. 

The team already has a solid record of seven wins and only one loss for the 2024 season. On Saturday, April 27, Apponequet decisively beat Middleboro High School, with a final score of 22-6. 

Still, the team has big shoes to fill given last year’s success. Apponequet made it to Massachusetts State Championship Round of 8 in the 2023 season. 

Coach Cindy Cuthbertson said that she is “hopeful” the team can make it that far again this year. “There is potential for sure,” she said.

The Lakers lost four seniors last year, one of whom was Emilia Keane, who now plays lacrosse at University of New England. Cuthbertson has one senior playing for her this year, Celia Hiller, who scored a goal in the last game against Middleboro after dealing with an injury earlier in the season. 

Though filling the shoes of graduates has been a big challenge, the Lakers coach noted, underclassmen have played a huge role in buffering that loss. “Our strength is really our sophomores and juniors.”

On the team is sophomore Cecelia Levrault (#11), junior Abby Bradley (#22) and junior Jayleigh Howarth (#10), all of whom are midfielders. Levrault recently scored her 100th goal in her high school career, according to Cuthbertson. 

Howarth made seven assists in a recent game, for which Cuthbertson referred to her as an “unsung hero.”

Other players include juniors Addison Taylor (#1) and Allison Aruda, the team goalie. “We’re lucky to have her. She’s a strong player for us,” Cuthbertson said of Aruda. 

While a lot of teams have one or two “superstars,” that’s not the case with this group, said Cuthbertson. “I honestly feel that they’re very much team-oriented. It doesn’t really matter who gets the goals.” 

On the field, they have a strong transition game, she said. This means that when Apponequet gets possession of the ball, players are skilled at quickly getting the ball back down the field.

Despite the Lakers’ strengths, the team has many areas of improvement, said Cuthbertson.  One of those is its defense. Three of the four athletes that graduated last year played defense, she said, “so that’s one of the things we’re working really hard on.”  

She’s also working with her team on making better passes, and reducing the number of penalties – which, she admitted, is “a work in progress.”