The Guilford Seahawks girls’ lacrosse team got out to a strong start in the Dream League this summer and kept the good times rolling by posting multiple victories last week.

Guilford began its season by earning wins versus Monroe (17-10), Stratford (24-6), and Wallingford (14-6) during the first two weeks of play. In last week’s action, the Seahawks claimed a 13-2 victory over the Branford Sting and then defeated the Madison Mavericks by a 16-7 final to improve to 5-0 on the year. Guilford also improved to 3-0 in the North Division of the Dream League with its two recent divisional victories.

Guilford has been led on offense by Maddie Epke, Catherine Larrow, and Hannah Tillier thus far this season. The Seahawks’ trio has combined to score 46 of the team’s 84 goals on the year.

Guilford started off last week’s action by earning a 13-2 home win against Branford on July 21. Ella Clarke and Larrow both scored four goals for the Seahawks in the victory. Sydney Cunningham had two goals, while Miya Imaeda, Ella Kagan, and Tillier netted one goal apiece. Goalkeeper Sydney Widlitz made five saves in net for Guilford. Molly Scanlon also made a save in the game.

A recent Guilford graduate, Larrow is having a big season in the Dream League thus far. Larrow appreciates that she’s getting to play more lacrosse after missing out on her senior campaign.

“I have loved getting to play with all the girls again,” said Larrow. “It is great to see all the talent and togetherness our team has.”

On July 25, the Seahawks hosted Madison and won by the game by the final score of 16-7 at Guilford High School. Widlitz came up with a season-high nine saves in the victory. Larrow scored six goals, and Tillier had four goals for the Seahawks. Epke scored two goals, while Marin Ciardello, Imaeda, and MJ Santa Barbara all scored one goal to help Guilford prevail.

Like Larrow, Widlitz said that she’s enjoying her experience in the Dream League. Widlitz is entering her junior year at Guilford High School.

“The season has been going really well. It’s been a nice opportunity to play with the seniors one more time before they go off to college,” Widlitz said. “We have had to take a lot of precautions, but it has still been a great experience.”

As they enter the home stretch of the regular season, the Seahawks are gearing up for postseason play, which begins with a tournament for each of the Dream League’s two divisions. The winners of the divisional tournaments will then play each other for the league championship.

Guilford is competing in the North Division with North Haven, Madison, Branford, and Wallingford. The teams in the South Division are Amity, Shelton, West Haven, Stratford, and Monroe. The North Division tournament will be played in Guilford, and the South Division Tournament is being held at Penders Field in Stratford.

The Dream League is a free statewide girls’ lacrosse league that was founded by the non-profit James Vick Foundation. The foundation created the league to give a season back to athletes who were unable to play their high school campaigns due to the coronavirus pandemic. Every player who signed up was provided with insurance, practice shirts, and uniforms covered by the league. All of the players and coaches in the league have been tested for COVID-19 and have to go through routine temperature checks both before and after both practices and games.