The bright, gleaming sun illuminated the field, but it was Division senior midfielders Christina Rea and Julie Ballantyne who provided the sparkle.
The duo tallied four goals each to lead the Lady Dragons (0-1 league, 2-1 overall) to a 17-6 victory over the Bethpage Golden Eagles (2-0 league, 3-1 overall) in a non-conference matchup on Saturday afternoon in Levittown.
In girl’s lacrosse, ball possession is the name of the game and Division head coach Sean Donellan was quick to note this important facet of the offense.
“We started with our draw control,” Donellan said. “After that, we were able to get our transition game moving and get some easy looks at the goal. We managed to finish our shots today, which is always good.”
After falling to Wantagh on March 31, getting back into the win column was vital as a confidence booster moving forward and Division got off to a hot start by pressing the action in the early stages of the game.
Battling against a run-and-gun style of transition-based offense employed by Bethpage, the Lady Dragons got on the board 3:08 into the contest when Rea scored from four yards out for a 1-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles struggled to find offensive consistency, as they were held scoreless until midfielder Brittany Bird found the back of the net with 13 minutes remaining in the first half.
Division attacker Courtney Boneillo tallied three goals and added two assists, including a high-speed shot past Bethpage goalie Brianna Whelan with 4:18 to go in the first half to open up a 12-2 edge for her team.
Lady Dragons goalie Meghan McDonnell (six saves) held Bethpage to just three first-half goals and backup netminder Jasmin Blennau (three saves) saw playing time in the second stanza after Division opened up a 15-3 halftime lead.
Division also received contributions on offense from Jenna Rothar (two goals), Alexa Weingrad (two), Kimberly Pepe (one) and Sarah Gerner (one).
Junior Marisa D’orsi and sophomore Gina Fader kept the Golden Eagles from settling in offensively, as Bethpage managed just three goals in the second half.
