Girls' Lacrosse

Blair’s girls’ lacrosse team is focused on bettering each player as an athlete and as a teammate while working together to build the program and compete for Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) titles. Head coach Aly Dowey’s daily goal is to balance a focus on individual skills with practices geared toward team play. Every player works toward strong fundamentals—stick skills, game sense, speed and agility—which helps build self-confidence and teaches the value of hard work. Individual strengths are woven together during practice, creating a team that is greater than the sum of its parts. The team’s success relies on a positive team dynamic, strong communication and devotion to hard work.

Blair lacrosse has been improving continually over the past decade. Over the last 15 years, many of our athletes have gone on to play lacrosse at schools such as Columbia University, Cornell University, Colgate University, William Smith College, Bates College and Bowdoin College.

If you have any questions, please contact Coach Dowey.

Meet Coach Dowey

Aly Dowey earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Bates College in 2015 and worked as a research lab assistant during the final two years of her undergraduate studies; she joined Blair’s science faculty in 2015 as a teacher of general and analytical chemistry. Outside the classroom, Aly is the girls’ varsity lacrosse head coach and varsity field hockey assistant coach, having been a four-year starting defender and senior-year captain of the Bates varsity lacrosse team. Aly lives on Insley Hall’s Flight Deck, where she serves dorm duty.

Meet Coach O'Neil

Sarah O’Neil joined Blair's language department in 2005 as a Spanish teacher. She came to Blair after teaching for two years in Americorps and completing her undergraduate work at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Sarah earned a master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury Language Schools in Vermont (2009), and she has taught every course at Blair from Spanish 1 through AP Spanish language. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Sarah is head coach of the varsity field hockey team and an assistant coach for lacrosse. An avid sports fan dedicated to fitness and overall well-being, Sarah enjoys spending her free time exercising and cheering on Blair's many athletic teams, especially in the winter when she is not coaching. Sarah lives in Kathryn Hall with her husband, history teacher Quint Clarke ’87, where she also serves dorm duty.

View directions to athletic events. To read recaps about past events, go to the "Team News" tab above.

View more photos from the 2018 season or past years on Blair's Flickr.

Blair's girls' lacrosse team has steadily improved over the past decade. In the last 15 years, many of our athletes have gone on to play lacrosse at schools such as Columbia University, Cornell University, Colgate University, William Smith College, Bates College and Bowdoin College.

A team is successful when each member of the group is willing to see beyond the boundaries of possibility and aim further. It is a phenomenon that occurs when individuals accomplish something they thought was beyond their capabilities. This sort of achievement is attained through hard work, commitment, belief in self and belief in others.

Meet Coach Fralick

Kelsie Fralick came to Blair in 2017 from St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, where she taught Latin and coached JV field hockey and JV girls’ ice hockey for two years. She completed her undergraduate degree in classical languages and anthropology at Connecticut College in 2015 and earned her Master of Science in education from the University of Pennsylvania through the Penn Residency Masters in Teaching Program in 2017. A former professional ice hockey player in the National Women’s Hockey League, Kelsie skated for the championship-winning Boston Pride during the 2015-2016 season. She teaches Latin 1, 3 and 5 at Blair and serves as JV field hockey assistant coach and JV girls’ lacrosse head coach. Kelsie lives and serves dorm duty in Insley Hall.

Meet Coach Durkee

The Rev. Lisa J. Durkee was appointed Blair’s chaplain and chair of the religion and philosophy department in 2017. Ordained a minister in the United Church of Christ in 2007, she holds a bachelor’s degree in English and religion from Wellesley College (1987), a master’s in English from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English (1996) and a master’s in divinity from Andover Newton Theological School (2007). Lisa is an experienced independent school educator, having taught and coached for 15 years at schools in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Following her ordination, she served as pastor of the First Congregational Church of West Brookfield, Massachusetts, from 2007 to 2016, and pastor of the Congregational Church of Weston, Massachusetts, from 2016 to 2017. Lisa’s duties at Blair include developing and teaching religion and philosophy courses, facilitating weekly Vespers and Chapel, and coaching girls’ JV lacrosse. The mother of two daughters (Keira and Emma ’20) is a writer and musician who has performed as part of a band and as a guitar and vocal soloist. In coming to Blair, Lisa returns to her New Jersey roots; she resides in the apartment above the J. Brooks Hoffman ’36 Health Center and serves dorm duty in Mason Hall

View directions to athletic events.

View more photos from the 2016-2017 season or past years on Blair's Flickr.