Lady Purples lacrosse continues torrid start against Greenwood
Published 8:33 am Thursday, April 17, 2025
The Bowling Green girls’ lacrosse team continues to make a splash in the first season as a KHSAA-sanctioned sport, the latest chapter a 17-0 win over Greenwood on Wednesday at Bowling Green Junior High.
Bowling Green improved to 6-0 overall, with the smallest margin of victory eight in those six wins. It’s a program that got a head start with two years of competition prior to this season, including playing for a state title last year in the Commonwealth Lacrosse League.
“We graduated eight players last year, a lot of scoring and basically the whole defense and goalkeeper,” BG coach Lisa Correa said. “These kids that are playing on the field now have really stepped into a role. We’re really young. We do have some really good senior leadership on the defensive end with Kaidence Dunagan. She’s one of the top defenders, in my opinion.”
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Wednesday was a microcosm of the season to date for the Lady Purples. Piper Boyd scored 17 seconds in, with Bowling Green building a 3-0 lead in the first four minutes. The lead grew to 7-0 after the first quarter and was 12-0 by halftime.
After scoring one goal in the third quarter, the Lady Purples added four more in the fourth – with the defense preserving the shutout despite a late charge by Greenwood (1-5) in the final minutes.
“This team is kind of growing together,” Correa said. “The second half we were looking to see more assists, moving the ball around a little bit. The first half it seemed like we forced a few too many shots. They get better every practice, so I am really looking forward to seeing us continue to work on some things.”
Boyd had five goals for Bowling Green, while Emma Macy had four goals. Katie Blair White had two goals and four assists.
“I think once you get the hang of it, you can kind of use the people around you to try and get through the gaps and find a way to the goal,” Lindsey said. “It’s really just relying on your teammates to be there.”
Bowling Green has piled up impressive numbers to start the season. The Lady Purples have outscored opponents 98-9 – the closest contest a 10-2 win over South Warren, which also competed in the CLL last season.
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The Lady Purples lead the state in average goals per game scored 16.3, while fielding the top defense with opponents held to 1.5 goals a contest.
“It’s all one big job,” Katie Blair White said. “You have to have the defense. Then you can get it to the offense.”
Correa said her team takes pride in the defense, with Wednesday the team’s third shutout on the season.
“It’s something we work on,” Correa said. “It’s hard to have shutouts in lacrosse, especially our goalkeeper (Abby Lindsey) is an eighth grader and she has really embraced that role. We’ve also had Abby (Smerkowski) the senior step in and this is her first year of lacrosse. She made a nice eight-meter save there at the end.”
Correa also credited Eva McCay and Isabelle Riehn as seniors like Dunagan and Smerkowski that are providing leadership. The roster is peppered with a lot of underclassmen, including several middle schoolers like Lindsey that are playing a part on the early success.
Macy Lindsey said the team has grown together in its short time of competition.
“We have this chemistry, so I think that helps,” Lindsey said. “We just carry that to every game.”
And the program is still growing, according to Correa.
“I think they are having fun,” Correa said. “That is a big part of the game. The kids are getting better as they are enjoying it. We continue to grow the program. We have a lot of middle schoolers in the program right now, so that is something nice to see. I think there have been several girls that have gone off to college, so that piques a little bit of interest. The girls are enjoying it and continue to grow from year to year – even month to month.”
Bowling Green’s next scheduled contest is Monday at South Warren. Greenwood will play at Louisville Eastern on Saturday.
About Micheal Compton
I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.
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