FILE PHOTO
Left to right, Dan Hayes founder of the Peabody girls lacrosse program in 2001 and coach of previous scoring record holder Heather Popp. Middle, Peabody senior captain Lauren Wolff and current Peabody coach Dennis Desroches.
By ANNE MARIE TOBIN
PEABODY — If you’re Lauren Wolff, ignorance is bliss.
Yesterday, Wolff set a Peabody girls lacrosse program record for career points with 231, notching two goals and an assist in the Tanners 12-1 win over Medford to break the previous record of 229 points set by Heather Popp in 2005.
Wolff went into the game with 228 points, but didn’t know she was on the verge of making history.
“I had no idea I was close to it,” said Wolff, who committed to play lacrosse at Utica College in the fall. “I knew when I got my 200th point, my coach did the same thing, presenting the special ball, and that against the same team we played today. So when I got this one, they (Medford’s players) all asked me what milestone this was. So that was pretty nice.”
Wolff tied the mark with a nifty assist on what turned out to be the game winning goal.
After falling behind 1-0 two minutes in, Colleen Crotty netted the equalizer at the 21:08 mark, beating Mustangs’ goalie Patty MacClean high.
Wolff tied Popp’s record on Peabody’s next possession.
Chloe Gizzi won the ensuing draw and went straight to net, but was fouled and awarded a free position shot from the 18-yard line. She carried the ball around the right side of the net and passed to Wolff, who in turn dished a perfect feed to Olivia Kirkicoples in the slot, who beat MacClean low.
“They tried to throw the doubles at us, as Wolff showed on her first point of the day,” Peabody coach Dennis Desroches said. “She saw the double team and got the ball to Olivia for the goal. It was an excellent read by her (Wolff).”
The record breaking goal did not come easily. Peabody led 4-1 at halftime, then bumped the lead to 5-1 on a goal by Gizzi two minutes into the second half. After MacClean denied Jillian Arigo’s free position shot from the 11-yard line, Wolff dug the ball out of a scrum and was fouled.
She bounced the shot off the far post into the net only to have a referee waive the goal off. After a two-minute conference, the referees reversed the call, sending Wolff into the record books.
“The ball hit the far post and in, then bounced back outside the crease and that’s when the referees saw it,” Wolff said. “I got hit and went down so I didn’t really know what was going on, but I knew it went in, I mean we all saw it go in, so I was glad when the referees awarded the goal. It means a lot to me to set the record. I’ve played with a ton of great players in Peabody, many of whom I’ve played with since we were five years old.”
Now that the record is behind her, Wolff is focused on making a deep tournament run.
“We are fighting for home field in the tournament right now, so we need to finish strong,” she said. “I missed playing last year with a concussion, so this year will be very special for me and all 12 seniors who will be playing for the last time as Tanners. We’re all hoping to go out on a high note”
For Desroches, bearing witness to record breaking performances is an old hat.
“How lucky, how fortunate am I to be able to coach not one but two girls who set program records in Peabody,” he said. “Wolff setting the record today was incredible especially considering she missed at least five games last year, and being able to watch Hayley Dowd set single season and career records in soccer is just so special.”