CHESHIRE, Mass. -- Libby Ballinger scored seven goals, and the Lee girls lacrosse team scored six straight to end a 14-6 win over Hoosac Valley on Tuesday.
For Wildcats coach Sarah Schaeffer, this was more like it.
Two weeks after dropping a 17-8 decision to the Hurricanes in Lee, Schaeffer's team won its fifth straight and improved to 10-1 this spring behind nine saves from Sierra Beckman.
"This was the team that I knew -- that I know -- we have," Schaeffer said. "This is what we look like every day. And they brought it here."
A big key was Ballinger, who missed the first game of the home-and-home. On Tuesday, she helped Lee earn an advantage on draw controls and scored four first-half goals to give her team a 6-5 lead at half-time.
She scored the Wildcats' first goal in the eighth minute to cut into an early 2-0 Hurricane lead. And she scored the final goal of the first half in the 23rd minute on a bounce shot go give Lee the lead for good at 6-5.
"I didn't play in the first game, and that was kind of tough because we were having an undefeated season," Ballinger said. "We really wanted to come back from that. I think as a team, we all played super well."
Lauren Davis (three goals) opened the scoring for Hoosac Valley in the second minute, and Ashlyn Lesure doubled the Canes' lead with a bounce shot with 18 minutes, 55 left in the first half.
Schaeffer called her first timeout, and her team responded with a 4-1 run that included three goals from Ballinger and one from Naima Clark to put Lee ahead, 4-3.
Davis stopped the run with a free position goal to tie it with 7:46 on the clock, and the teams traded goals from there.
After taking a slim 6-5 advantage into half-time, Lee got goals from Ballinger and Ashley Sonsini to open the second half before Davis converted an assist from Lesure to make it 8-6, Wildcats, with 20:36 left.
It was the last time Hoosac Valley found the back of the net.
"We brought them in for a timeout, and I stressed the importance of defending them closely, getting the ground balls, taking care of the ball and crisp passes down the field," Schaeffer said. "We made a few adjustments, and I think we got the kinks out."
Netti Boyko picked a corner for a man-up goal with 18:19 left in the game to give her team a 9-6 lead and start the decisive 6-0 run.
"I'll be honest with you, we just kind of gave up, I thought, in the second half," Hoosac Valley coach Molly West said. "We really didn't play well in our transition in our midfield. And we always say, our midfield game, that's where a lot of games are won and lost.
"I think the first time we played them, we dominated on the draw. We didn't dominate on the circle today. ... And then the second thing is, we didn't communicate and transition and find that cutter, which I think they did."
Ballinger got stronger as the time wound down, scoring Lee's 12 goal, coming up with a check to stop a free position chance in the 47th minute when Hoosac still had a glimmer of hope down six and setting up Boyko for a goal in the 49th minute.
"[Ballinger] is definitely ambidextrous," Schaeffer said. "Right hand, left hand, it doesn't matter. She can pretty much catch anything you throw at her. And she makes it down the field for defense.
"So she's everywhere."
Lee will be on the road again on Thursday when it travels to Monson.
Hoosac Valley (8-3) gets one day off to regroup before it tries to right the ship at Hampshire Regional.
