Coach, Central Catholic seek repeat performance

“It was really exciting,’’ said Grange. “The team made it easy on me. They worked hard day in and day out and we had a lot of fun.’’

This season, Central is no longer the underdog, and the Raiders will have to adjust very quickly to a new lineup because they are now the team everyone wants to beat.

Mikayla Hickey, who led the Merrimack Valley Conference in scoring last year, is one of eight freshman recruits at Seton Hall University. Four other starters also graduated, but Grange is confident in the ability of her new and returning players to step forward.

“We were deep last year, so our core group is solid and we definitely have talented JV players coming up,’’ said Grange.

Senior Lanie Jowett, who has run captains’ practices during the past month, said she knows what her teammates are capable of this season.

“This year will be different,’’ she said. “But we can do it; we have people that can definitely step up.’’

Jowett, along with Central teammates Alexa Poulin, Stephanie May, and goalkeeper Katherine Mullen, helped power the Northeast squad to the gold medal in the Bay State Games this summer. The foursome got used to playing together again.

A starting center defender since her sophomore year, Jowett is up to the challenge of leading a run at a repeat, according to her coach.

“Lanie is rock-solid back there,’’ said Grange. “After every game in the playoffs last year, coaches praised how well she played.’’

“Lanie is a great leader,’’ said Poulin, an aggressive junior center midfielder who led the team in assists last season. “She keeps everyone motivated and focused and pushes us to do our best.’’

Poulin said that she learned a lot from Grange in just one season. “Everyone respected her because it was all business going in, but we also had a lot of fun,’’ she said. “We learned what it takes to be in the final game, and we proved to her that we could do it.’’

Grange said that “Poulin is just a workhorse in the midfield. She controls the whole game from there.’’