Even a hot run at the end of the regular season could not help the West Haven girls lacrosse team. Winners of their final three regular season contests and four of their last five, the 14th-seeded Westies saw their season come to a close with a 15-8 loss against 19th-seeded Trumbull in a Class L qualifying round contest at Ken Strong Stadium in West Haven Saturday evening.
With the loss comes the end of a storied career for West Haven senior Gabi Prisco, who scored five times and added an assist in what would be her final game in a West Haven uniform. Prisco finished the season with a team-leading 68 goals.
Trumbull took control of the game in the first half, jumping out to a 9-3 lead. West Haven kept inching closer, but Trumbull responded each time and never let the Westies get within striking distance.
Mary McDaniel also scored twice, and Madisyn Crotta added a goal in the loss. McDaniel added a pair of assists, while Crotta had a helper as well. Nicole Gaston made 19 saves in the loss and finished with 164 saves on the season.
McDaniel also had a stellar season, finishing the campaign with 49 goals, while Crotta finished with 27 tallies on the year.
The Westies had closed the regular season with a 9-7 record, dropping Foran on the road in the season finale.
The last victory in the streak came last Monday evening in Milford as the Westies rode the play of Crotta and Prisco to post a 13-7 victory at Foran High.
Crotta led the West Haven offense with six goals, while Prisco continued her stellar season with five goals to give her 63 regular-season tallies on the year. Keegan Riccio and Annalise Depino also scored in the game for the Westies. Gaston came up big in goal, finishing with nine saves.
For Prisco, a stellar four-year career on the lacrosse field comes to a close with the senior scoring close to 200 goals (181) in her four years, increasing her goal total each year, starting with 24 as just a freshman.