The 2017 lacrosse season has been nothing short of miraculous for the Windsor High School girls program in its third year of existence, as the Jaguars continue on a remarkable track that has the team scrambling to reset its once-modest goals.
Led by the husband-and-wife coaching tandem of Aaron and Kristin Piotter, the Jags’ back-to-back winless seasons of 2015-16 seem like a distant memory after posting four victories in their first seven games.
“Introducing the sport, teaching the basics and having fun were the only objectives,” coach Kristin Piotter said of the team’s first two years. “The current 2017 campaign, however, brings a different feeling along with different expectations. Nine freshmen arrived with a combined 25 years of experience. Add that experience to the returning roster and the team is reaping the rewards of experience and chemistry.”
Armed with both experience and talent, Windsor has shown remarkable improvement in virtually all facets of the game, most noticeably on offense. The Jaguars, who scored just 16 goals in 10 games last year, have already amassed 41 goals in seven outings. Their current record of 4-3 has the team in a tie for second place in the North Bay League.
Windsor’s varsity roster is made up of two seniors, two juniors, eight sophomores and twelve freshmen. The team is led by captains; senior attacker Kaitlyn Jernigan, sophomore defender Gianna Davis and sophomore goalie Paige Dieckmann.
Infusing the Jaguars with talent is freshman midfielder Elka Piotter, who leads the team in scoring with 13 goals. Also patrolling the midfield stripe are freshmen Nicole Mattos (9 goals), Ellie Kohtz (8 goals) and Ashlee Crowley (1 goal).
Other key team members filling out the second line “middies” are senior Sarahi Aguilar and sophomores Kaitlyn Dalton and Mina Zamora. They are joined by freshmen Hali Hartman and Carmen Escarana, who figure to be valuable contributors for years to come.
“Although the offense has shown a knack for scoring prowess, the team’s identity is rooted in hard-nosed defensive play.
Defender Gianna Davis and freshmen teammates Ashley McBride, Jewel Carstensen and first-year player Kendra Phillips have joined forces with junior Hannah Tumbrink, an exchange student from Germany, to form a formidable back line.
“The core of Davis, McBride and Carstensen has helped newcomers Phillips and Tumbrink bring their game to an elevated level in an incredibly short period of time,” Piotter said. “Our defense has caused opposing coaches to call multiple time-outs to make mid-game adjustments, yet as the game goes on we tend to get stingier and even better despite their effort to give us different looks.”
According to Piotter, sophomore attackers Cassie Mann and Zane Shatnawi have each chipped in a goal and provided reliable stick-work, patience and a knack for finding the weakness in the opponent’s defense. Freshmen Alexandra Baker, Linette Ramos (3 goals) and Mary Sweeney (1 goal), along with junior Emily Castillo allow the offense to possess the ball and create scoring opportunities.
“The biggest challenges we’ll face in the near future is providing exposure to the sport and convincing great athletes typically hooked on a single sport that lacrosse is great cross training and would be a tremendous compliment to their cycle of sporting activities,” Piotter said. “Several of our players compete for WHS as soccer, volleyball players and cheer team members. We’re thankful to have girls that are well rounded and get to put on more than just one uniform with ‘Windsor’ proudly displayed.”
