By SPENCER BATES
SALAMANCA — With its 13-11 win over St. Mary’s, the Salamanca girls lacrosse team put the first tally of the season in the win column.
The Warriors have struggled so far this season, starting the campaign with eight straight losses. And even against the Lancers, things looked bleak at times. But thanks to some big time contributions by a range of players and a continued sense of faith in the process, Salamanca was able to run out onto the field in jubilation at the sound of the final horn.
At the center of the Warriors team this season has been Leilene McComber and it was of no surprise that she was the one that got things started for the hosts.
McComber has been nothing short of a lifeline for the Warriors this season, leading the team and entering the game against St. Mary’s with 26 goals on 45 shots on target with 11 assists. And having scored the first four goals of the game, she was once again the heartbeat for the team, getting them out to an early 2-0 advantage.
“She’s a captain, she’s a vocal leader on the team,” Salamanca coach Jesse Mohr said of McComber. “I mean, the biggest thing that we miss when she’s not out there is the communication, the leadership. She’s a great athlete. She brings that part of it too, but the biggest thing that we miss when she’s not out there is the leadership.”
And after scoring the Warriors’ first four goals of the contest, that leadership and communication is exactly what the team lost when she received her second yellow card and was left sidelined for a substantial portion of the game. A blow that led the Warriors to alter their gameplan.
“The teams that we’re facing right now, they’re all pretty good teams, and when Leilene is out there, they got a game plan for her,” Mohr said. “She’s an athlete, so normally they’re sending one or doubling the pressure on her and we can take advantage of that. But when she is off the field, it’s a little bit more of a man-defense that we see, which means we have to create some more opportunities in a different way.”
Salamanca’s Myla Galante (2) controls possession for Salamanca. Galante scored twice for the Warriors in their win over St. Mary’s. (Salamanca Warrior Athletics)
St. Mary’s did manage to respond after conceding the two early goals, winning the first frame 5-3. But, prior to McComber’s ejection, she did manage to help facilitate a solid effort in the second quarter that saw Myla Galante and Keira Bova also get on the scoresheet. The latter of the two, scored a big game-tying goal as time expired in the half.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they were unable to generate much immediately after the halftime interval with McComber out. An opportunity that the Lancers took full advantage of, out-scoring the hosts 5-1 in the third frame and taking an 11-7 lead.
But Salamanca was not going down without a fight. Even without its biggest offensive generator on the field, the hosts stormed back in the fourth quarter scoring four unanswered and tying the game up at 11-11.
“I think, honestly, all season long, I know this is our first win, but that’s kind of been the mentality in the locker room: always work,” Mohr said of his team’s ability to fight. “I mean, they’re always putting in (the effort), even in some of the tougher losses that we’ve taken this year, there has been no quit in this team.”
And it was that fight within his players that led them to continue the charge late.
With the wind in their sails, and a new leader at the helm in the form of Bova, who finished with four goals on the afternoon, Salamanca stormed back with two more goals that got them over the finish line.
“I believe in this team, and I think that we have the skill set to do more than what has been on paper so far,” Mohr said. “There’s been some tough losses. Especially Keira, being a first-year player, she stepped up big for us. Aubrey (Domres) on the back end, she’s kind of taken over a leadership role, Sophia Hodara (too). I mean, they’re all clicking at the moment. … We’re learning the right things at the right time.”
The Warriors will have the chance to use this result as a springboard into the remainder of their campaign, which Mohr knows will be difficult. But the biggest message he said he can give to his players after such a win, is to continue the work.
“That’s our central message right now: work and continuity going forward,” Mohr said. “No matter how you look at it, we got a tough schedule in front of us still. And every game is going to be a fight. We got to be ready for that.”
Salamanca will look to fight for its second win of the season away at Grand Island on April 29 at 6 p.m.
