PENACOOK – Pembroke Academy girls’ lacrosse entered Tuesday winless in its first three games, having been outscored 53-2. So when the Spartans jumped ahead on a goal from junior Bailey Gatchell 2:12 into a game with Merrimack Valley, there was a brief sense of optimism.

As head coach Sarah Jackes likes to say, “Celebrate the little wins.”

That was one of few “little wins” in a game in which MV stormed back to claim, 14-1.

Here are three takeaways from the matchup:

Merrimack Valley was able to shake off Monday’s 13-4 loss to Winnacunnet: MV (3-2) has alternated win-loss through its first five games. Part of that is due to the fluctuation in competition the Pride have faced, but head coach Kylee Yam’s also hoping to see more consistency.

She certainly saw that on Tuesday. Few glaring mistakes stood out for a team that dominated possession and seemed to find the back of the cage with relative ease.

“When the game started, I was a little bit nervous because they got a quick goal, but then we bounced back pretty fast, and I was happy with the attack,” Yam said. “They were able to work on a lot of the plays. Defense got stronger as the game went on. Draw controls were pretty consistent, so overall I was really happy, especially after we had a tough one against Winnacunnet.”

Sophomore Alyssa Brodeur and freshman Abby Thompson both led the way on offense with five goals apiece.

The Pride seem to have turned a corner after last year’s rebuild: Just two weeks into the season, MV has already surpassed its win total from 2022, when the Pride finished the year 2-12.

Still with work to do, Yam’s excited about what lies ahead for her team.

“It’s really nice,” she said of the early success. “We had a rebuilding year last year, so you’re wondering when you’re going to see the improvement and the change, and it seems like we already are. It’s good that it’s happening early in the season.”

One area she’s still hoping to see growth, though: “The oomph.”

“We’re looking for – I call it the ‘oomph,’ ” she said. “We’re looking for our extra energy and leadership, so that’s what I’m hoping for the next game.”

That next game comes next Tuesday against Keene-Monadnock.

In a rebuild of their own, the Spartans hope to keep building on the positives: Starting a season 0-4 with a minus-64 goal differential is certainly far from ideal. But given where the Spartans are, with just three seniors on their roster, Jackes has focused on seeing progress from game to game. Tuesday’s performance was the team’s best so far, she said.

“(The) girls really showed some heart and hustle and put together a lot of the pieces we’ve been working on in our past three games and everything we’ve been working on in practice,” she said. “I’m super proud of them.”

Focus in practice has included maintaining possession while cradling and taking advantage of opportunities to shoot. And while losing games by wide margins time and again can make both practice and games mentally debilitating, Jackes likes the positivity.

After all, the Spartans can look no further than their opponent from Tuesday to see how things can start to turn around after a rough season.

“It’s not easy to be playing in some of these games when the score is so lopsided,” Jackes said. “But they’re keeping their positivity, (and) they’re keeping their heads up.”

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