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Sports

KP Girls Lacrosse Team Looking To Top Franklin

Warriors hoping to knock the Panthers out of the league title.

First-year coach and ex-Warrior Julie Pasquantonio is hoping to guide the King Philip’s girls lacrosse team to the Hockomock League Championship this spring.

After finishing in second place behind rival Franklin, King Philip wants to knock the Panthers off that top rung and claim it themselves.

According to Pasquantonio, the team will only be losing Hillary Bushway, whom she believes was the team’s number-one scorer last spring. Despite the loss of Bushway, KP returns no shortage of talented athletes.

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Senior co-captains Catherine Winslow and Kathryn Spencer lead KP attack.  While Spencer is the vocal and spirited one keeping everyone together on the field, Winslow is the glue that keeps the defense together. Winslow, who plays defense and midfield, is also in charge of the Warriors transition game.

Kathryn Riley will bounce back and forth from defensive mode to offensive for the Warriors. Although the junior is a center, she’s a solid defensive player and a great attacker.

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“She’ll probably be one of our top scorers this season,” the coach said. “Once they get to know her, other teams will probably faceguard her, but it’s not going to help them as she has excellent stick skills and will be able to get out of a lot of double team situations.”

Pasquantonio will also be looking toward midfielders Jenna Liljeberg and Olivia Fair to assist Riley in the scoring department. Like Riley, both possess solid stick skills and the ability to move into the attack mode quickly.

Junior Chandler Ross will take over the goaltending position. Ross will be playing in her first varsity season with the Warriors.  Having played on the junior varsity squad for the past two seasons, Pasquantonio firmly believes the junior is ready to tackle the upgraded role.

“Chandler has the experience, she just hasn’t been able to crack the varsity team with the talent that was ahead of her,” Pasquantonio said. “She had to wait for her chance and that time is now.”

The coach knows that other athletes will step up their play, but she’s going to sit back and watch them develop through the first week or two.

“A lot of the girls have showed solid play so far,” the coach said. “Our success will rely upon those who take their game to the next level. Gametime situations will be the only real way to tell who those girls are.”

The Warriors are looking to maximize their shots as a team. Instead of just throwing the ball on the oppositions net, the coach is looking for her team to make quality shots that count.

Pasquantonio is still unsure of what the other Hock teams will fully capable of doing on the field.

“I’ve heard some things, but I’m unsure to exactly what the other teams will bring to the table,” she said. “We’ll just have to wait for the games to begin to find out.”

King Philip opened the season Wednesday, April 6 at North Attleboro.

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