Rebuilding year for Irish
The Notre Dame Lady Irish girls field lacrosse celebrated a return to the field after a two-year pandemic absence with a berth in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations-sanctioned Trillium Cup 2022 Provincial Championships held recently in Oshawa.
The Southern Ontario representative at the championships went into the tournament as the 10th seed and ended up 0-3 in pool play, losing to eventual champion Brooklin High School from Oshawa, fifth-place finisher Malvern Collegiate from Toronto and St. Martin’s from Peel.
Notre Dame returned only one player out of 19 from its 2019 team that finished sixth in the province. Eighteen players were new to the game and all were in either Grade 9 or 10.
“This was a full rebuilding year for the program,” said Agi Mete, who coached the team along with Stephani Jarrett. “It was so incredible to have a season again and despite our youth and inexperience, the girls competed and performed well against some of the top teams in Ontario.”
Mete is excited about the future of the sport.
“High school girls lacrosse continues to grow around the province and Notre Dame has been there from right from the start,” he said. “As an OFSAA-sanctioned sport and championship, we are working hard towards reaching full OFSAA status as more teams participate.”
Notre Dame finished the season with an overall record 9-7-2.
Among its most notable accomplishments during the season were: finishing with a 2-1 record as host of the Playday Jamboree; going undefeated at the Oshawa Brooklin High School Play Day; winning the B Division Championship at the Brampton tournament; defeating Nichols High School from Buffalo, N.Y.; and, dropping a close contest to McDowell High School from Erie, Pa.
Team award winners were: Jessica Zanuttini who was named the senior MVP; Ava Stachura and Kyra DiGaetano, who were named the junior MVPs: Emma Hemphill who won the Senior Irish Award; Myla Fishleigh and Lauren Potts who won the Junior Irish Awards; and, Dylann Levitt and Julia Tremeer who were recognized as the athletes of the year.
