New Coach, New Winning Tradition for Watertown's Girls Lacrosse Team

Coach Eileen Donahue has not lost a game all year at Watertown High School - and that includes two different sport: field hockey and girls lacrosse.

The Raiders girls lacrosse team finished the regular season with a record of 16-0-1, and earned the No. 6 seed in the MIAA Div. 2 North Section tournament. They will face No. 11 seed Newburyport (11-6) on Tuesday, May 28 at 4 p.m. at Victory Field.

Donahue is well known for her team's dominance in field hockey - in which the Raiders have won four straight state titles - but Watertown has not had the same winning tradition on the lacrosse field. That is, until Donahue took over this year. 

Over the previous two years the Raiders only won 10 games, and failed to qualify for the state tourney. This year Watertown not only won, but usually by a wide margin, winning 12 games by five goals or more.

Some of the players didn't even own a lacrosse stick before the season. Field hockey players Senior Allie Doggett and Sophomore Rachel Campbell ran track last year but decided to play lacrosse when they heard Donahue would be coach, according to the Boston Globe.

The lack of wins and experience players did not deter Donahue, who was confident even before the season began. She told parents at a preseason meeting that the Raiders would be No. 1, senior Lauren Sutherland told the Globe.

While the Raiders record looks impressive, the team has not played a team with a winning record, the Globe reported.

The Raiders have their first shot at a team with more wins than losses on Tuesday, when they face Newburyport in the first round of the state tournament. The winner faces either Wayland or Lowell Catholic.

Read the entire Boston Globe story by clicking here.