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Last spring, the Winchester High girls lacrosse team had its season come to an end in the Round of 32 against Westford Academy, the sixth seed in Division 1, 13-6. The Red & Black were seeded 27th in the final power rankings after completing the regular season with an 8-10 record.
But Coach Suzanne Ontso’s team has since turned the page to get ready for another year. After three scheduled scrimmages, they will get the season underway on Monday afternoon, March 30, against visiting Tewksbury at 4:30 p.m. All of their home games will be played once again at Knowlton Stadium.
Seniors Sloane McCarthy, who has already committed to play at Pitzer College in Claremont, California next year, Ava O’Gorman, Michaela Panagako and Siobhan Sullivan are the 2026 captains.
Ontso welcomed 57 to tryouts on March 16, and as a result there will be a freshman team this spring.
“Most schools don't have three levels anymore, so our (freshman) girls will be playing against mostly JV teams. They will also play teams not in the Middlesex League in order to see some more great competition,” Ontso said.
A total of 14 veteran varsity returnees should help two freshmen – Annie Harstad and Millie McDonald – adjust quickly to the big club.
This year’s starting goalie has a familiar surname to those who have closely followed the team the last several years. She is the younger sister of Lulu Murphy, who’s now playing for the University of California at Berkeley squad.
“We knew we had big shoes to fill in goal upon the graduation of Lulu Murphy, but her sister Nelli, now a junior, has stepped (quite nicely) into (that) role,” said Ontso.
As a whole, Ontso is quite pleased with the team’s work ethic.
“This group has put in the work throughout the offseason, so I'm excited to see what they can do (in the next three months),” she said. “We had a few big holes to fill at midfield and on defense since last year’s graduation, but with so many returnees and solid additions among the underclassmen on the roster, we still look to be strong in the always competitive Middlesex League, where all but one team made the playoffs last year.”
The Red & Black had a scrimmage against Hamilton-Wenham, before participating in a jamboree at North Andover that also featured the likes of Ipswich, Lincoln-Sudbury, Newburyport and Acton-Boxboro. They then scrimmaged Andover earlier this week.
Following those exhibition matchups, Sloane McCarthy, Lila Griffin, Ceilia Nagtegaal, Ella McCarthy, Sophie McCarthy and Annie Harstad emerged as this year’s defenders. The midfield will be made up of Madelyn Rabinovich, Reese Bottari, Lauren Corr, Stella DeChristoforo, Eme Marshall, Millie McDonald and Clare McCabe. Ava O'Gorman, Michaela Panagako, Sarah Adams, Caroline McInnis, Siobhan Sullivan and Opal LaMontagne will comprise the attack, with Nelli Murphy in net.
“For what we lack in experience, we make up for it in effort, attitude and hustle,” said Ontso. “This group is pushing each other every day. We have a large senior class of 11 players, and they've already set the tone to make their last season their best (yet).”
The veteran Winchester coach went on to say that the team’s “biggest challenge is always trying to find the right mix of girls, who are capable of scoring, and so far in the scrimmages, they’ve shown that they can do just that.”
Besides going up against Liberty Division rivals like Lexington, Reading and Belmont, the Red & Black also have competitive non-league games set up with Billerica, Weston, Wayland and Pinkerton Academy in New Hampshire, which should help them compile points in the all-important power rankings.
It all begins for real on Monday, March 30, against aforementioned Tewksbury at home. They will close out the week against visiting Wilmington on April 1 at 4:30 p.m., and host Billerica on Saturday, April 4, at noon.
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News in November 2024 and is currently its Sports Editor. He can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
