GRANBY — The Granby girls lacrosse team soundly defeated Blackstone Valley, 20-5, in the first round of the Central/West Division 2 Tournament, Tuesday afternoon.
Junior Julia Frappier, who had five goals and two assists, achieved her 200th career point with a first-half goal.
“It felt great. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates though because they were looking for me and they made me look good with all their passes,” Frappier said. “I’ve been on the team for awhile now and it feels great to reach that.”
The Rams came out with a strong first half, scoring 15 of their 20 goals.
Gabby Walz (assist) scored all three of her goals before halftime. Ella Laliberte scored two of her three goals in the first half, while Jasmine Rodrigues-Jones (assist) had a goal in each half.
“The transition was very good today,” Granby first-year coach Allie Roy. “We didn’t waste our energy running the ball up and down the field the whole time. Our passes were great and we limited a lot of turnovers on our part. Our shots were on point, all of them were going in. I think they were choosing some good shot spots and making good shots.”
Senior Madison Sexton also had three goals for the Rams, who finished 3-14 last season and missed the playoffs.
“Coming into the season, I think everyone was a little skeptical, but our coach definitely helped us be hyped up and wanting to play,” Sexton said. “Our team this year is helpful and motivating so we really put ourselves together and worked hard everyday. We did team bonding because it’s really important to have chemistry, so I feel like we really put it together this season.”
Roy, who played lacrosse at American International College, guided the Rams to a 12-6 regular-season record.
“When I got here, I knew this team had potential and I knew it was going to be baby steps,” Roy said. “They shocked me. They give me a lot of credit but they are the ones who show up to practice everyday and they put their effort into it.”
The Rams played well on both sides of the ball. Goalie Liberty Conlin, who had four saves, didn’t see much action until the second half when Blackstone scored three of its goals.
The sixth-seeded Rams (13-6) will visit No. 3 Auburn (14-4) in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Thursday.
“I think that when we play our best is when we focus on our game and when we just play ourselves,” Roy said. “We need to focus on everything we’re good at and play the whole game, we have to play the full fifty minutes.”