The Cranston East girls lacrosse team erased a four-goal deficit to come back to beat visiting Toll Gate 9-8 last week.

The Titans came out firing and built a 4-0 advantage after one quarter of play. East, though, would work its way back in the second quarter to tie things up at 4-4. Toll Gate added one goal in the final second of the half to lead 5-4 at the break.

Neither team led by more than one goal from there on as they exchanged goals in the second half. East got its first lead of the game when Lily Tillinghast scored to make it 7-6 with 12 seconds remaining in the third. The team went score for score in the fourth quarter, but the Bolts got the game winning goal and held off a late Titan surge in the final three minutes as goalie Yeimi Vaquerano made a pair of stops to close out the win.

“We had to keep our heads up. We knew we could compete with this team,” said Tillinghast, who finished with three goals along with fellow senior Alyssa Pereira. 

Toll Gate entered the game with some momentum and a 2-0 record to start the season. 

Pereira felt that the team responded well to the test, especially down the stretch to close out the game.

“We knew they were going to be a strong team coming in but we pulled it together. It was a stressful environment but we needed to lift each other up. Our communication is what helped us pull it together,” said Pereira. 

After a down year last spring, the Bolts return much of the same lineup including Tillinghast, Pereira, Bella Dupret, Lia Jiminez and Madeline Flinn. 

With a crop of seasoned returners, East is confident that it will make a run in Division III this spring. 

“Last year was our building year, this year we have girls coming back and know the positions. We’re building that chemistry. We have a lot of depth, we have a lot of girls that give assists, our defense is amazing. It’s not just one thing,” said Tillinghast.

“We’re here to win this year,” Pereira added. “We’re going to come in strong, build as we go and get better.”

Toll Gate was led by Madison Gautieri and Sylar Blue-Kraus with two goals each. Despite the loss, coach Jim Areson was happy with the effort, especially no the defensive side, as the Titans held all three of their first opponents to single digits. 

“We’ve played pretty good D, I thought we played good defense today. We’re hurting a little bit, we’ve got a couple kids injured right now. Every day they’re a little bit better,” said Areson. “It’s a growing process. I thought they played well today, but Tillinghast is a really good player.”