Narragansett shows confidence in win over Bay View. Here are 5 takeaways from Monday's game

NARRAGANSETT — If the Narragansett girls lacrosse team ends up with the Division III championship trophy in two weeks, consider Monday's match the first sign that it became a real possibility.

Yes, the Mariners haven’t lost since their season opener, but Monday’s 10-7 victory over Bay View was a tone-setter with the postseason due to start in a few days. Winning a game against a playoff team is one thing, but beating the defending D-III champs this time of year matters a little more.

“It means a lot to us,” Narragansett’s Julianne Harris said. “We struggled with them last year so it’s really nice to put up a win against them this year — twice.”

“I don’t think there’s a better feeling,” Narragansett’s Madison Tally said. “Not only because we won, but just because of how far we’ve come as a team.”

So what happened on Monday? It was a great test for Narragansett and a good way for Bay View to add to a growing chip on its shoulder.

Here are five takeaways from a regular-season game that felt suspiciously like it was being played in the postseason.

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Narragansett had something to prove

What has made the Mariners great this spring has been their ability to move forward. After getting shellacked by Westerly in the season opener, Narragansett refused to feel sorry for itself. It just moved on — and the Mariners haven’t lost since.

“It definitely put things into perspective,” Harris said. “We felt that feeling of losing and we didn’t want to feel it again. We’ve been working really hard and we’ve been doing great ever since.”

“First game is a first game and you’ve got to leave the bad energy behind,” Tally said. “In all the sports you play, if you lose a game, you have to get over it. You just have to have the mentality of you can’t let it keep you down and that’s what’s helped our team do better in past games.”

Not every win has been smooth sailing, but there have been some confidence-builders along the way. Beating Bay View, 6-5, on April 29, was a win that really showed Narragansett it was headed in the right direction.

The Mariners picked up wins over East Providence and Mount St. Charles — both playoff teams — but Monday’s win over the Bengals really seemed to be confirmation that this team is championship caliber.

“This was a tough team and there was a lot of pressure going into it,” Harris said. “Getting a win like this definitely means a lot and puts some confidence in us and we’re ready.”

“We want to do well this season,” Tally said. “We’re all just working toward the end goal — winning.”

The game was won in the draw circle

Possession is the name of the game in lacrosse. If you have the ball, you can score. You don’t, you won’t.

That puts a considerable amount of pressure on Tally, but the senior is used to it by now.

“It’s scary, but you know when you have the draw. You can tell and that’s almost relieving,” Tally said. “You have a feeling you’re going to win and it’s helped me be not as stressed.”

Bay View never led, but after the Bengals tied the game at six, Tally came through with a play that turned the whole game around. She directed the ball to a teammate, giving Narragansett possession and Harris took care of business, giving the Mariners the lead just 15 seconds after the Bengals had erased the two-goal halftime deficit.

Tally came back and won another, leading to an Ellie Wooten goal and the field was suddenly tilted. Narragansett finished the third quarter with two more goals, with Tally providing the last to make it 10-6 with 4:54 left in the quarter.

“I just work on my placement. In previous years I haven’t worked on the draw and this year I started to work on it more by myself and I think it’s helped me,” Tally said. “In this game you have to have that same mentality — if you lose a couple, you have to be like ‘I got this’ and move forward and kind of tackle the rest.”

Narragansett showed its balance on offense

One player wasn’t going to be enough against a tough Bay View defense and the Mariners leaned on a team attack to get on the board.

Tally scored the game’s first goal and she scored Narragansett’s last and in between five other Mariners scored. Harris led the way with four, getting two in the second and one in the third quarter.

“My teammates are great with looks and cuts,” Harris said. “And with Kate [Shields of Bay View] as a great goalie, placement is key with her.”

It’s great for an offense to have one player it can lean on in big moments, but Narragansett seems to have several. Once the playoff hits, that type of balance is going to create headaches for defenses, which can’t overplay one player in hopes of disrupting an entire offensive attack.

What’s next for Bay View

Don’t count the defending D-III champs out of the picture just yet.

The bad news for the Bengals is Monday’s loss dropped it to the No. 5 seed in the Division III playoff picture, which means no home playoff games.

The good news is the road game won’t be much of a trip. Bay View should be lined up to play No. 4 East Providence, which finished with the same record as the Bengals but earned the seed after beating them 8-7 on April 23.

“We’re waiting to see who we play, but it’s a new game every game and we have to leave everything behind us in the past,” Shields said. “It’s regular season for a reason and it’s championship season for a reason, too. If we really come together, keep working at practice whoever we see shouldn’t matter.”

If Bay View is going to repeat, it’s going to have to beat teams it lost to during the regular season, including a potential semifinal matchup with Westerly, which handed the Bengals two losses.

They won’t be the favorites in the tourney, but they’re still the champs until someone eliminates them and that makes Bay View the scariest underdog there could be.

“I think its OK,” Shields said. “I don’t think there should be any expectations. I don’t think any team should have expectations. I think everyone should come in with a play-good mindset and go out there and play.”

What’s next for the Mariners

After its eight-goal loss to Westerly in the season opener, Narragansett is almost assuredly the No. 2 seed for the D-II tournament regardless of what happens in Tuesday’s regular-season finale.

That would earn the Mariners a bye in the quarterfinals and home semifinal game against the winner of a game that should feature Ponaganset and defending D-IV champ Mount St. Charles.

“We’re really excited to have our fan base and that’s going to relieve the stress,” Tally said. “We'd really love to have our boys team and everyone else support us and that really helps us feel more confident.”

Can Narragansett win the program’s first title since 2015? Playing confidently, it certainly can. After Monday, that shouldn’t be a problem and the Mariners are more than ready for the postseason.

“We’re coming in as underdogs,” Harris said. “We’ve got a lot to prove and nothing to lose.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Narragansett shows confidence in win over Bay View. Here are 5 takeaways from Monday's game