Stingy defense to go along with plenty of offensive firepower put Owego in the winner's column to start the season, taking down Chenago Valley, 14-2 in the girls' lacrosse home opener.

OFA put a big number on the scoreboard Thursday night, but it was goalie, Shannon Maslin that shined early. Maslin made numerous difficult saves in the first quarter, one save coming on a free position shot at the 8:02 mark to set the tone for the night.

Madison McEvoy got the first score on the board, snapping a goal at the 5:47 mark of the first quarter. Owego quickly followed up with another goal by Amelia Sherman two minutes later. Sherman scored a second goal in the quarter and Lexi Herceg found the net for the first of her four goals on the night. The River Hawks' lead 4-0 going into the second stanza.

Chenango Valley showed some fight to start the second when Jade Behlog scored to make it 4-1. Herceg and McEvoy were quick to respond though, finding the back of the net with a pair of goals minutes apart. McEvoy added another before Ashleigh Steele dropped in a goal of her own with 3:03 left to play in the half. Owego took an 8-1 lead into halftime.

Keira Henry found the net just three minutes into the second half, but Chenango Valley responded  with a goal from Victoria Kaufman. This brought the score to 9-2, but it would be the last points CV would see thanks to excellent defense lead by Kylie Craven and Bella Silvestri. The two defenders had one caused turnover a piece.

McEvoy scored her fourth and final goal of the evening with 20 seconds left in the quarter, putting OFA ahead 10-2 heading into the fourth. 

In the final stanza of Thursday's action, Herceg added two more scores. One goal coming less than two minutes into the fourth and the other with 2:10 left in the game. Sherman put another shot by the goalie, landing her a hat trick for the night and Henry earned her second goal as well during the fourth quarter. The 14-2 victory gets the River Hawks to 1-0 on the season.

The excellent duo of McEvoy and Herceg both had four goals and an assist each during the Owego 14-2 victory. Sherman had two assists to go with her hat trick and Ashleigh Steele racked up five ground balls. Izzy Herceg notched three ground balls of her own and Maekayla Overacker provided an assist.

When asked about how it went getting back on the field for the spring season, Madison McEvoy was quick to point out the bond this team shares. 

"We work very well together. There's just a lot of team chemistry and we're like a family out here," said McEvoy. 

The senior also made sure to shout out her standout goalie, Shannon Maslin. "We can't do anything without our goalie. It has to get past all 11 of us before it gets to her, but she always saves the day, so we're very happy to have her behind us," McEvoy added.

Coach Ashlee Marsh was also happy with how her team started the regular season.

"We played a great game and it was a collective effort. This was one of the best starts to a season that we have had," said Marsh. 

The head coach also echoed McEvoy's sentiments when it came to goalie, Shannon Maslin.

"She's our anchor back there. She makes great saves, then gets the ball out of her stick quick and creates those passing opportunities up the field where we usually can score," Marsh said.

OFA girls' lacrosse next game comes against Whitney Point on April 3rd.