Chelsea Girls Lax
Lose to BBA in Finals
By Mary Childs

A Chelsea lacross player is chased down the field by four Burr & Burton defenders in the Division II girls finals match Saturday.

The fifth seeded Chelsea Red Devils traveled to the home of the Galloping Ghosts in Randolph for girls lacrosse semifinal action last Wednesday, June 6. In the regular season Chelsea handed Randolph their first loss of the season shattering their undefeated record, but during their second match up Randolph fought back for the win. Entering the semifinal game, it was a sure bet that the contest would be close, and, in fact, couldn't have been closer.

Chelsea came out strong winning the draws and beating their opponent to ground balls. The Devils’ determination paid off when Hillary Bonasera weaved through two defensemen for the first goal of the game, Lindsey Smith fed off of H. Bonasera's intensity and tallied another goal for the Lady Devils, giving them a 2-0 edge. Randolph retaliated with a goal of their own closing the gap to 2-1. Even with the smallest lead Chelsea wasn't going to look back and kept their composure with Lindsey Smith scoring two more goals. Randolph could only match one of those.

It looked like teams were going to break for the half with Chelsea ahead 4-2, but with 43 seconds remaining in the half Randolph snuck a goal past Chelsea Keeper Laura Upham for a halftime score of 4-3, Chelsea leading.

Within minutes of the first half H. Bonasera took on the Randolph defense and sent the ball to the back of the net to lift Chelsea to a 5-3 lead. Chelsea did not score again in the remainder of the game, instead they sat on their lead executing patience, midfield pressure, passing and catching.

When Randolph regained the ball, Chelsea shutdown their efforts to advance the ball up the field as midfielder Sam Bonasera, Althea Spencer and Michelle Upham applied pressure forcing turnovers to give the Red Devils possession. Possession was key to Chelsea's game as they possessed the ball for 20 minutes out of the 25 minute half. Chelsea's defense only allowed three opportunities for Randolph to score. Twice Upham shutdown Randolph's offensive threats.

Randolph's fourth goal came when a shooting space violation was called and Shelby Peltier was awarded a free shot. But that was as close as Randolph would get to beating Chelsea. When the clock had wound down Chelsea was the team that could claim the 5-4 semi-final win. Their next destination; the Division II Girls Lacrosse Championship game.

Chelsea Girls Go to the Ship

Two and a half months ago, 14 out of the 35 girls in Chelsea High School tried out for the varsity lacrosse team and all were welcomed to the team. Throughout the regular season determination and intensity drove that team to where they were last Saturday, June 9, the Division II girls lacrosse finals. Every one of those 14 girls played in the one game opportunity on the Moulton-Rinder astro-turf field at the University of Vermont. Their opponent: the Burr and Burton Bulldogs.

It seems that Chelsea and BBA have always found each other on the way to the Championship. The last was two year ago when Chelsea defeated them for the crown. During this year’s regular season Chelsea traveled to Manchester, Vt. to play BBA and came home with a 14-2 loss. Stepping onto the field the Chelsea Devils knew they were in for a tough game, but that wasn't going to discourage them from trying their hardest.

Burr and Burton’s stick skills and speed proved to be too much for the Lady Devils as they were soon behind, 2-0. The first 10 minutes of the half proved to be Chelsea's best and through the short spurt a glimmer of hope surfaced. Chelsea's Lindsey Smith, Althea Spencer, Kim Upham, Hillary Bonasera and Jodi Emerson all had opportunities on the goal but BBA's keeper, Paige Madison, was there to stop the shot. The remaining 15 minutes of the half played in BBA's favor. Burr and Burton capitalized on Chelsea's biggest weakness, a lack of subs. BBA ran the ball non-stop to score nine unanswered goals before Lindsey Smith sent one past the BBA goalie.

Burr and Burton held the 10-1 lead going into the second half and continued to build their lead. BBA's Marie VanDerKar led the offense keeping the Chelsea defensive squad hard at work. She went on to score six goals.

Late in the second half, Lindsey Smith struck again to tally Chelsea's second goal of the game. Only a few minutes later Hillary Bonasera weaved through the Bulldog defense to tally one of her own. Kim Upham also found the back of the net, for the last goal of the game. Despite Chelsea's determination, Burr and Burton proved to be the better team and won the Championship 16-4. Chelsea was content with taking the runner-up trophy, as they had an impressive season leading them to the finals.

Seasonal highlights included a win over last years Champions U-32, handing Green Mountain Valley School two of their three losses (the other from BBA) and defeating undefeated Randolph in the regular season. Chelsea closed out their season with an impressive 12-5 record. Offensive threat Lindsey Smith, defensemen Mary Childs and keeper Laura Upham will be leaving the Chelsea team as they are graduated seniors.