Haslett/Williamston girls lacrosse captures first regional title

DEWITT – Everything the Haslett/Williamston girls lacrosse program had achieved this season led up to Friday night's regional final with DeWitt.

Capturing a regional title was a goal to start the year — something that has never been done in the history of the program.

And after scoring the game's first six goals, Haslett/Williamston was able to withstand DeWitt's second-half charge to earn a 9-5 victory for the regional crown.

"We had a lot of goals coming after last season where we had a really solid finish and we talked about team culture and what we wanted to achieve, and this group really came together as a team," Haslett/Williamston coach Chad Pastor said. "They are doing it for each other, and it's super exciting because they put in a ton of hard work and these girls put their heart and soul into it."

Haslett/Williamston held a 6-1 lead at halftime, but DeWitt made a charge behind junior midfielder Elliana Hillard to cut the Panthers' deficit to 7-5 with nine minutes remaining.

But goals from senior midfielder Madeline Sesti and freshman midfielder Abby Russell extended the lead back to four to put the game out of reach.

"It's a really big accomplishment and we're still going to keep getting better and we're excited to go forward," Russell said. "We communicated and worked as a team, doing all the things that we were trying to do. Mental focus is everything as competition gets tougher. Seeing all the hard work pay off and being with your teammates is so rewarding."

Senior midfielders Breyer Fenech and Brianna Nedwick, as well as junior attacker Ree Baetz, all scored goals for Haslett/Williamston. Hillard was responsible for four of DeWitt's five tallies.

Haslett/Williamston has now won 19 straight games after opening the season with back-to-back one-goal losses. It avenged one of those early defeats in the midst of its win streak, beating Portage Northern by 11 goals.

"The girls have been tested throughout the season with some tough games and tough matchups, and it took them to dig deep and concentrate and resettle and that's what they did," Pastor said. "It's been really important that we've had a lot of different players who can contribute and be players in the game. It's been a whole team effort in making things happen."

Haslett (19-2) will face East Grand Rapids (15-9) in a Division 2 state quarterfinal at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at East Lansing High School.

Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on Twitter @Nathaniel_Bott

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Haslett/Williamston girls lacrosse captures first regional title