Jaguars among top teams; push unbeaten record to 5-0
The Lady Jaguars are off to a great start in the early stages of the spring lacrosse campaign, recording recent wins over Petaluma and Head Royce to push their unbeaten record to 5-0.
Behind the husband/wife coaching tandem of Aaron and Kristin Piotter, along with assistant coach Teri McBride, the team hasn’t skipped a beat after a watershed season of 2017, a year that included a second-place league mark of 7-3 and a first-ever trip to the North Coast Section playoffs.
Windsor may be even better this season, as it returns a strong nucleus of talent that includes several of the top players in the Redwood Empire.
“Though replicating last year’s second place 7-3 campaign will prove more challenging with greater parity expected in the league, the future looks bright,” coach Aaron Piotter said, citing Cardinal Newman as the team to beat. “Changes loom to the restructuring of the lacrosse leagues in 2019, but we’ll look to improve upon our 2017 success against league foes.”
Key returnees for the Jaguars are first-team all leaguers; junior goalie Paige Diekmann, sophomores; defender Ashley McBride, midfielders Elka Piotter and Ellie Kohtz and second team all league midfielder Nicole Mattos.
Other returnees that will play a significant role are junior defender Gianna Davis, sophomore defenders Jewell Cartensen, Ashley McBride and Kendra Phillips, sophomore midfielders Ashlee Crowley and Hali Hartman, junior attackers Kaitlyn Dalton and Cassie Mann, sophomore attackers Alexandra Baker and Mary Sweeney.
Heading the list of first-year varsity players is junior crossover soccer star Samantha Moberly. She’ll be joined by a dynamic group of midfielders that features freshmen Cailie Cooper, Rebecca Hernandez, Siena Grace, Kennedy Kulas and Hailey Toste. First year juniors Kelly Berndt and Citalli Santiago will also be players to watch.
Rounding out the group of varsity newcomers are freshmen attackers Savahna Smith, Lauryn Sosa, Lizzy Gross, Makenzie Keeler and Mariah Ohler. Other first year defenders are freshmen Erica Fountain, Madison Dalton and Amanda Plumb.
Jags post wins
Windsor has been stellar in the early stages of the schedule, posting pre-league wins over Alhambra (10-5), Terra Linda (6-4), St. Vincent (6-4) and Head Royce (9-8).
The Jaguars opened the league campaign on March 14 with a 7-4 win over Petaluma. Elka Piotter (3) and Mary Sweeney (3) scored hat tricks to pace the offensive attack, while Ashley Crowley also found the net for Windsor. Credit Alexandra Baker with an assist for the Jags.
While the string of wins has been great for the team so far, the Windsor brain trust is taking more of a big-picture approach to the season.
“We’re excited about 2018 and even more excited for the continued growth and development of our lacrosse program,” Aaron Piotter noted. “We expect numbers to grow as word of the sport spreads among the girls’ friends. We have no seniors on the roster, so the building blocks are in place for a lengthy run and a great foundation of girls who can mentor and assist the next wave of WHS girls lacrosse players.”
