AUBURN — The Gastonguay sisters and Avery Lutrzykowski powered St. Dominic Academy to a 15-2 victory over Erskine in a Class C state semifinal Tuesday.
Freshman Charlotte Gastonguay had six goals and three assists, and her sister, Caroline, added a pair of goals and as many assists. Lutrzykowski also had two goals and two assists. Emma Theriault and Mia-Angelina Leslie each scored twice.
“The past three games, we were off to a slow start,” St. Dom’s coach Leslie Klenk said. “We weren’t being patient and were caught off-guard. Our focus today was to get off to a smart, fast start and keep going from there.”
The Saints were off and running when Charlotte Gastonguay scored off the opening faceoff 10 seconds into the contest off a feed from Lutrzykowski. Theriault made it 2-0 before the 30-second mark of the game.
“We were coming out expecting different results, and when you come down and get two quick ones, our kids work hard and they aren’t going to quit, but it’s very hard to come back from repeated shots on goal,” Erskine coach Shara Macdonald said. “Our goalie played well today. I thought she had some really nice stops.”
Erskine goalie Ashlyn Wing made seven saves.
Theriault had chances to pot more goals in the game, but she was snake-bitten by hitting the post a few times in the fist half.
Lutrzykowski scored two goals between the 4:30 mark to the 7-minute mark to give the Saints a 5-0 lead.
Caroline Gastonguay picked up her first goal of the game off an assist from Lutrzykowski. Mia-Angelina Leslie then made it 7-0 for the Saints. That was the last goal of the half not scored by a Gastonguay.
Charlotte Gastonguay scored four of the final five goals in the first half. Caroline had the other. The Saints led 11-0 at the break.
While she wasn’t tested often, Saints goalie Simone Long was solid in goal in the opening half, stopping all four shots she faced. She made six more saves in the second half.
“She was definitely the key today,” Klenk said. “I think she was our most valuable player for (us) because she stopped shots that could have gone in easily.”
Long had confidence in her teammates, and she was familiar with the shots she was facing.
“We do those types of drills in practice, so I am pretty comfortable with it,” Long said. “Plus, I had my entire team in front of me supporting me in slowing the ball down so I have enough time to react and move in the correct position.”
Leslie opened the second half with her second goal of the game. Charlotte Gastonguay had the assist. Charlotte Gastonguay and Theriault stretched the lead to 14-0.
Jordan Linscott broke the shutout bid with 7:30 minutes remaining. Isabella Johnson scored the Eagles’ second goal four minutes later.
“We really didn’t set up our offense until the second half,” Macdonald said. “If you aren’t running something and you are just standing, it makes it difficult to score.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
