Holly Newman, Annalisa Massaro get Manhasset girls lacrosse rolling

It was a prolonged stretch that not only changed the tenor of the match, but made a resounding statement.

For approximately 26 minutes, the Manhasset girls lacrosse team showed the kind of championship makeup they displayed over the last two seasons on their way to back-to-back Nassau Class B titles.

Leading by a mere two goals against a quality opponent with about 11 minutes remaining in the first half, Manhasset shifted into high gear and never looked back, as they scored 11 unanswered goals in an 18-5 road victory over North Shore in Nassau I on Wednesday.

The dominant run boiled down to two words for Alexis Morton – draw controls.

"I think the draw controls were a major part of that," Morton said. "At first it wasn’t going our way, but I think once we started getting them it really helped and we took over from there."

Manhasset improved to 7-1, while North Shore dropped to 5-2.

Manhasset began to take control with 11:17 remaining in the first half, as Holly Newman’s goal began a 7-0 run. That was capped off with 2:39 to go, giving Manhasset a 12-3 advantage entering halftime.

SEE PHOTOSPhotos: Manhasset vs. North Shore girls lacrosse

Newman and Annalisa Massaro led the flurry as they netted two goals apiece during the stretch. Morton gave Manhasset its biggest spark of the first half, scoring all four of her goals and tacking on an assist.

"We had a lot of cuts and in the beginning the [isolations] weren’t working because they were sliding so quickly," said Massaro, who had three goals and two assists. "But we were able to move the ball around and get a lot of feeds, and overall it was a good team win."Manhasset added on another four goals before surrendering a score to Kylee Colbert with 10:20 left. Finley Collins recorded nine saves in the win.

"It was just about pushing the fastbreak and getting the ball around," Massaro said. "Double-cutting and moving the ball constantly was also big for us."

Manhasset coach Meghan Clarke knows this was a different kind of victory for her squad.

"I would definitely say this was a statement win for us," Clarke said. "North Shore is always great competition for us and has great players, and I tip my hat to them. And we were the fortunate ones today."