The Hand girls’ lacrosse team did not emerge with any club hardware when the dust settled on the 2023 campaign, though the Tigers certainly strengthened themselves as an entity with several of its players achieving league, state, and even nationwide recognition while becoming a more cohesive and supportive unit.

Head Coach Lindsey Carroll and the Tigers finished 11-5 for their regular-season efforts, yielding Hand the No. 2 seed in both the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) and Class M State Tournament. First in the league draw, the Tigers fell 15-4 to 3rd-seeded Guilford in the semifinals on May 22 after a first-round bye. Then, in the state bracket, the Tigers first dispatched No. 15 Ledyard by a 15-9 final for the first round at home on May 30 before falling to No. 7 Brookfield, 13-10, in the quarterfinals as hosts on June 2 to finish 12-7 overall.

Carroll recalled that no matter how the postseason fortunes turned for the Tigers’ team, it grew closer together while each student-athlete worked harder towards strengthening their individual skill sets and maturing as a club.

“First and foremost, my coaching goal was to foster a team-first dynamic centered around growth, development, investment and love for one another, and I feel we achieved that,” said Carroll. “We had hopes of winning both SCC and state titles, but came up a little short this year. They came in every day to practice, set individual and group goals, and kept each other accountable. Relationships amongst teammates also grew strong.”

Within those 11 regular-season triumphs, Hand did in fact take down rival Guilford with a 12-9 victory at home on April 24, who wound up claiming its third consecutive Class M state crown, plus the Tigers bested Simsbury, who also defeated Guilford during its regular season run, on the road by a 13-10 count on May 12.

Senior midfielder Lydia Doraz highlighted the Hand offense this year with notching 69 goals and 26 assists to go along with 95 draw controls en route to her earning First Team All-SCC and All-State accolades. Senior and attacker Shawn Staak was additionally First Team for both the all-league and all-state squads and was named All-State Academic, as was senior defender Coco Rourke, who additionally achieved All-State Academic and USA All-Academic Team honors.

Additionally, senior defender Liv Catala and sophomore midfielder Addison Kosiewicz were each named Second Team All-Conference and All-State, and finally, senior captain Anna Flanagan on defense joined Rourke on the USA All-Academic Team.

Staak, Rourke, and Flanagan capped off their careers with Hand by being a terrific triplet set of stewards as squad captains who put a full-on display of their pride and passion for their teammates and the sport day in and day out on and off the turf.

“Coco Rourke, Anna Flanagan and Shawn Staak were a dynamic trio of captains,” said Carroll. “They each led the team with a love and passion for the game and their teammates.”

Now, of course with that terrific slate of competitors within the senior class, the Tigers will have to reshuffle the deck a bit when it comes to assembling their pieces for the

2024 campaign. Yet Hand can counteract any of those potential anxieties by bringing back a solid and determined underclass, plus a very proficient product of a JV club.

“We are sure to suffer a huge loss with losing 11 seniors,” said Carroll. “However, we have an extraordinary amount of upcoming talent. Our second varsity line is very very strong, in addition to our JV team having an undefeated season, allowing less than 10 goals in the entire season.”

The 2023 Hand girls’ lacrosse team roster was comprised of seniors Catala, Madeline Coulis, Lydia Doraz, Flanagan, Lucy Fritzinger, Kaitlin Jarvis, Paige Mastoloni, Reegan O’Dea, Maci Pellegrino, Rourke, Staak; juniors of Phoebe Doraz, Katie Flanagan, Jacqueline Kennedy, Kelly Kilbourn, Rebecca Snyder, Paige Steffen, Regan Suerth, Haley Wines; sophomores in Georgia Cohen, Margaret ‘Maggie’ French, Hadley Howard, Nora Hughes, Kosiewicz, Marla Lafferty, Morgan Mastrobattisto, Camryn McParland, Hannah Rich, Lily Vest, Bridget Waters, Lucy White; and finally freshmen Jolie Aarsen, Ava Bonalsky, Ellie Flynn, Lilliana Gerrard, Margaret Lavin, Claire Levis, Sophia Lind, Claire Rickelman, Eva Rose, Samantha Sweet, Elizabeth Walsh, and Kayla Warnke.

Carroll just completed her fourth season at the helm for Hand, having now been with the program for seven. Her assistant coaches this spring were a tandem of second-year assistants in Julie DeCosta and Andy Howard.

2023 Hand Girls’ Lacrosse Team Regular Season Results

April 1: Hand 15, Masuk 8

April 3: Hand 17, Hamden 7

April 5: Hand 15, Sacred Heart Academy 8

April 8: Weston 9, Hand 3

April 12: Hand 20, Branford 8

April 17: Hand 19, Sheehan 1

April 19: Hand 12, Amity 7

April 20: Hand 17, Norwich Free Academy 4

April 24: Hand 12, Guilford 9

April 27: East Lyme 13, Hand 10

May 1: Cheshire 15, Hand 9

May 4: Fairfield Ludlowe 10, Hand 9

May 8: Hand 23, Lauralton Hall 8

May 10: Greenwich 13, Hand 8

May 12: Hand 13, Simsbury 10

May 15: Hand 17, Foran 4