Dover's Lily Hunt has career game against old teammates Spaulding in girls lacrosse

DOVER -- Lily Hunt scored two goals in Dover's 23-2 win over rival Spaulding in a 2023 matchup between the two rivals. It was a good game and victory for Hunt and the Green Wave, but Hunt said it was "very difficult."

"I was pretty emotional, because I felt guilty," Hunt said at the time. "For both leaving and playing against my old teammates."

Hunt was a Red Raider her freshman season, but transferred to Dover her sophomore season, which was last year, and is now in her second year being a key player for Dover.

Now, in 2024, Hunt, a junior attack, is back scoring against her hold team. On Wednesday, she scored a varsity career-high seven goals in Dover's 21-0 win over Spaulding on Wednesday afternoon. Hunt said after the game, it was an effort from all sides that allowed her to be more comfortable in this year's game.

"The team last year and this year have just uplifted me, and have been there for me," Hunt said of her Dover teammates. "They know when I'm not in the right mindset or I'm second guessing myself and they lift me up; very grateful for that."

"I think last year was more of a mental challenge for (Hunt)," Dover senior Rylen Gray said of Hunt last year. "Because it was her first year out on the field playing against a lot of girls that she played a lot of the time with. So it was really different, but, this year, I think she came out differently, because she's been at Dover, this is her second year now, and she's grown so much as a player and a person."

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"I do understand and know that the girls are happy for me from Spaulding, and I think that's also really nice to have support on both sides of the field," Hunt added. "And once we get off the field, sure we're enemies on the field, but then we're back to being friends and we can smile, hug and everything like that."

Efficient performance for Lilly Hunt as Dover is off to fast start

Hunt scored her seven goals on 10 shot attempts, proving to be efficient and productive in the outing, and sits at 99 points during her time with Dover.

"I think last year, (Hunt) was very nervous to play against her old teammates, and this year, she's not a Spaulding girl anymore, she's totally Green Wave," Dover head coach Dana Gray said. "And these girls have been behind her and have supported her."

Hunt's seven-goal performance comes on the heels of a five-goal, four-assist game in the Green Wave's 16-7 season-opening win over Salem.

"Anytime (Hunt) takes an eight meter (shot attempt), I feel bad for the goalies," Gray said. "I haven't seen everybody yet this season, but she has one of the best eight meter shots in our league, in our division. She's also great on the grounders, and the draw control and redefending."

"Especially since she comes from Spaulding originally, it's definitely a mental game for her at first, but once she gets into it, she's just like boom, boom, boom," Rylen Gray said. "And it's amazing to see her make those crazy shots."

Dover graduated eight seniors from last year's team, making room for a larger role for Hunt to step up in and contribute even more. With an eight point average through two games, she's certainly been up for the task.

"I've been focusing a lot on stuff that I didn't try last year and improving where I lacked," Hunt said. "So, like my left hand, dodges, footwork and stuff like that. And then I've also just tried to really get to know the younger girls so they can both trust me and I can talk to them and help them where they need it."

Dover, playing in Division I, improved to 2-0 on the season in while Division II's Spaulding drops to 0-1.

"Lily Hunt, she can score on anybody," Spaulding head coach Scott Blake said. "She had seven against us, so that was kind of brutal."

Spaulding is youthful and coach sees promise

The Red Raiders are a young team with nine freshman on the roster, and with the recent inclement weather, playing a D I team and having to use the gym, Spaulding hasn't been able to practice as frequently outside as would be ideal.

"(Dover) is very seasoned and they're very good ... it's a tough matchup," Blake added. "I thought when we actually got it out to the offense and we moved it around, we didn't panic, but then we didn't catch a pass and they went the other way too quick."

"I love playing the neighboring town rival, it's always fun," Dana Gray said. "Today was a really good game for Dover where we could get a lot of our players in who sometimes don't see as much (playing time)."

Along with Hunt's seven goals, Sydney Lane scored three goals, Khloe Healy scored twice, and Reese Sanders, Kiley Campbell, Gray, Kyra Small, Payton Denning, Megan Healy, Addy Churchill and Molly Ziefelder each scored for Dover in the win. Maggie Berry had two saves in net.

Hunt scored three times in the first quarter, twice in the third and twice in the fourth.

"Honestly, I think her shot power is unbelievable," Dana Gray said on what makes Hunt a difficult matchup for opponents. "She's been working on dodging and getting open more, but her side arm is outstanding."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Lily Hunt, Dover rout Spaulding in girls lacrosse rivalry game