Whitman-Hanson girls lacrosse reaching a new level this spring

ABINGTON — It took Michelangelo four years to paint the Sistine Chapel.

The Whitman-Hanson High girls lacrosse program has made its own work of art in double that time.

The program itself is less than a decade old but has been making strides up to this point. Last year, the Panthers finished 4-13, missing the playoffs. But now the 2023 team has gotten the ball rolling with a 6-2 start and doesn’t plan on slowing down.

When W-H head coach AC Decker was asked if this is the best season in program history, he was proud to answer.

“I would say so, in terms of the types of wins we’re having and the teams we’re beating,” said Decker. “I haven’t beat Silver Lake before and we beat them. We had a really strong game with Pembroke. Some teams we struggled with in the past we’re doing well against.”

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A blowout 15-1 road win over Abington on Wednesday afternoon was a measure of how far the Panthers have come. Senior captain Ella Nagle led the team with four goals.

Nagle, who plays attack, lost her freshman year due to COVID (no MIAA sports were playing in the 2020 spring), but she’s been on the team since she was a sophomore. This year's success is uncharted territory for her.

“It’s been weird because we weren’t winning many games the past three years,” said Nagle. “But this year we’re 6-2 now and I don’t think we’ve ever won six games in a season. Last year it was four games and the year before that like three. It definitely feels good.”

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Nagle is just one of four seniors on the team. The other class of 2023 members are Liv Mara (3 goals, 2 assists vs. Abington), Maddy Allen (2 goals) and Jill Phillips. With such a young team, every day is a learning experience for everyone from the coaches to players.

“I think just the chemistry of the team,” Decker said of the prime reason for the fast start. “And it’s players that are all doing the same thing. They are all following the same game plan and that helps a lot. It’s a young group, we only have four seniors, but they’re definitely strong and leading us in scoring.”

Three of the rising stars are sophomore Lillie MacKinnon (2 goals, assist) and freshmen Shannon Balfe (goal) and Abby Nash (goal).

“Shannon and Abby stepped right in (as freshmen) and blended right in with the team and see a lot of playing time,” said Decker. “I'm looking forward to them maturing and getting more confidence.”

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Balfe and Nash are the only two freshmen on the team and each contributed against Abington. When the younger girls on the team are able to play and hang with the vets, it gives hope for the future.

“It’s definitely nice because it’s usually older players that are starting, so having new young players” stand out is a good sign, said Nagle. “They’re really fast.”

Whitman-Hanson's defense has ben solid, allowing five or fewer goals in five of its first eight games.

“Our goalie, Liv Godwin, has been amazing,” said Decker. “You ask about our success, our defense has been really quietly solid. We’re hoping as we go in to the tough part of our schedule we can hang with some of the biggies like Hingham and Duxbury.”

Whitman-Hanson has made the tournament before, but deep playoff runs have proven elusive. It’s going to take a complete team effort for it to happen, but this team might possess the talent to make program history.

“The main goal is to win as many games as we can,” said Nagle.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Fast start has Whitman-Hanson girls lacrosse dreaming big