Wilson continued its unbeaten run in the Berks Girls Lacrosse League Thursday afternoon at Wyomissing, as the Bulldogs defeated the Spartans 14-6 behind a four-goal game from senior Alexa Kairis.
Kairis scored the opening goal of the game for Wilson off a penalty, just over two minutes into the matchup. She scored her second goal of the night in the second quarter and had two in third to help lead the Bulldogs (8-0, 12-3). For Kairis, the success against league opponents thus far is a promising sign of redemption as the county playoffs loom around the corner.
Last season, Wilson fell to Twin Valley 8-6 in the BCIAA final at Albright College, and the Bulldogs have not earned a county title since 2018.
“We’re gonna keep working for it (a county championship) as much as we can,” Kairis said. “We’re gonna remember what we went through last year. It would mean absolutely everything to us because as seniors we have not won one yet. So to win one would just be absolutely amazing for us.”
Although Wilson pulled away in the second half by outscoring Wyomissing 5-1 in the third to take a 10-5 lead, the Spartans kept things close early on in the first half and showed a strong sense of resilience.
Shortly after Kairis’ opening goal, senior Mackey Lentz tied the game for the Spartans (5-2, 11-3) and was assisted by sophomore Kacey Maggs.
Both teams tightened up their defensive efforts thereafter, and both goalies made key saves off of penalty shots to keep the game level in the first quarter.
Sophomore Skylar Maggs saved a penalty shot for Wyomissing with 8:35 left in the first and freshman Lily Jankowski did the same for Wilson with 2:00 minutes remaining.
Maggs finished the game with eight saves and Jankowski also had eight.
“Lilly, our freshman goalie, had an incredible game,” Bulldogs coach Chelsea Roziek said. “So we’re very proud of her for that. To step up and be a freshman in the cage and to deliver against the only (league) team we haven’t beat so far, is great.”
A goal by senior Kaitlyn Coldren with 37.4 seconds left briefly gave the Bulldogs the lead before Lentz scored her second goal of the night just before the end of the first and was once again assisted by Kacey Maggs.
In the second period, junior Brooke Prentiss and Kairis scored over the first six minutes of the quarter to give Wilson a 4-2 lead.
Senior Ashley Baker put the Spartans within one on a shot from deep that was assisted by Kacey Maggs with 6:38 left in the first half. However, senior Audrey Miller gave the momentum right back to the Bulldogs with 5:55 remaining in the first half on a goal assisted by senior Ainsley McLain.
With 38.7 seconds left, Kacey Maggs scored her first goal of the night to make it 5-4 at halftime.
Maggs finished the game with a game-high three assists, and Lentz and Maggs each scored a team-high two goals.
“We came out strong, really hungry and I was really proud of the girls and how they played,” Wyomissing coach Keith Reidinger. “Ultimately there in the third quarter, I think a couple of things just got away from us. We had opportunities in transition, and we had a lot of unforced errors. And then some 50-50 ground balls just kind of didn’t go our way.
“They did a good job, at least putting the ball in the back of the cage and I think we had some opportunities, that had we capitalized on, maybe it could have been a little closer result,
Junior Mattie Keiser scored two minutes into the second half and was assisted by McLain to add to Wilson’s lead.
McLain scored a goal with 7:32 left in the third quarter, and Maggs added a goal for the Spartans seconds later with a goal off a penalty shot.
From there, holding a 7-5 lead, the Bulldogs controlled possession, forced Wyomissing into several turnovers and maintained the momentum the rest of the way. Kairis’ third and fourth goals of the night came late in the third, and Keiser scored her second goal of the night with 38.7 seconds left in the third. She finished the night with three goals.
“Credit to them for being a great team,” Kairis said. “They always put up a good fight against us, but we just kind of figured out how to shut them down and how to get them to break, and draw the defense out. Then we got some goals and our defense also had some great turnovers and some great ground balls that really helped us today.”
In the fourth, sophomore Macy Adams, Keiser, McLain and Kairis all scored for Wilson. Sophia Zeppos closed out the scoring for the Spartans with 2:49 left in the fourth quarter and was assisted by Karley Hyde.
For the Bulldogs, Miller had a game-high four assists. McLain, Adams and Prentiss all finished with two goals.
“I think our mindset coming into this game was that we didn’t have anything to prove, we just had everything to gain,” Roziek said. “Our mindset was to stay focused and emotionally composed and resilient through all the ups and the downs of a contest because it can definitely not go in your favor sometimes. But I think our non-conference schedule really prepared us for this and I think we were very ready today to put it all together.”
Playing in her final year of high school lacrosse, striving to do better for her teammates is all the motivation necessary for Kairis to continue to make a successful showing.
“I work so hard for my team,” Kairis said. “I want to be the best for them, be the best for my family and be the best for myself. I always want to do better than the game before. So I always want to motivate myself through that.
“I just want to say thank you to my team. They are the most amazing group of girls I’ve ever played with. They’ve made my senior year and all my years of high school so memorable, and my coach who just came for her first year. She has done so much for us in just a short amount of time and I’m sad that I only get her for one year but I can’t wait to see all they do after I leave.”
Source: Berkshire mont