The Panthers came out of the gate strong and jumped out to an early lead. However, Plymouth was able to rally and take the lead before halftime and never looked back despite a strong Whitman-Hanson effort in the second half.

“We lost our confidence [in the first half],” said head coach Karen Lopes. “In the second half, we played a lot better and we could leave with our head high.”

Ali Hardiman led the Panthers in scoring in the game with seven goals while Cailin Lenane had four and Molly Lavery and Sammy Saverio each added a goal apiece. Hardiman and Lenane were also named Atlantic Coast League All-Stars over the weekend as was Panther defenseman Kim Kane.

With the loss to the Plymouth, Whitman-Hanson fell to 6-7 on the season with games remaining against Quincy, Pembroke, Sandwich and Marshfield in which they must go at least 3-1 to qualify for the MIAA tournament. While Lopes said its going to be a tall order, particularly the games against Sandwich and Marshfield, she said there is still a very real chance the team can make the postseason in their first year at the varsity level.

“I believe it’s possible if we play our game,” she said, adding that, tournament or not, the team has already exceeded their expectations for their first season.

“This is better than what I expected at the beginning of the year. We’ve come a long way.”