BOW – Like most good teams, the Bow girls’ lacrosse squad is fueled by its losses.

Losing is not something the Falcons have done very often over the last two years, but they certainly remember the times they have fallen short.

In fact, according to senior Taylor Darrell, the most recent blemish on Bow’s record – a two-goal loss at Hopkinton on April 18 – is directly responsible for the ensuing four-game win streak that continued Tuesday with a 15-5 victory over Coe-Brown at home.

“I think it fuels our fire a little bit. We’re mad. We should not have lost that game,” Darrell said following a dominant five-goal, one-assist effort Tuesday. “It counts against us in the standings, but honestly, I think it makes us better. It teaches you that not every game is guaranteed, no matter how good you think your team is. No matter what, you have to go out and give 100 percent.”

Most losses can be categorized into a good column and a bad column. In Bow Coach Christiane Raabe’s mind, the early-season loss to Hopkinton was exactly what her team needed.

Bow hasn’t gotten outplayed since, having outscored its last four opponents by a score of 58-23.“It was perfect timing, really. I hate to lose but it was a good time to lose,” Raabe said. “There were a lot of factors but the biggest factor was that they outplayed us.”

The Falcons put on an offensive clinic Tuesday that first-year Coe-Brown Coach Mike Hyer couldn’t help but marvel at.

“They connected really well. Their passes connected well. They did a good job of taking advantage of our defensive slides. They got a lot of goals out of that transition situation,” Hyer said.

But even following a 10-goal loss that extended a three-game losing streak for the Bears (1-6), it was hard for Hyer to find fault in the effort his team gave.

“There’s definitely some things to take away from this game. We’ve had a tendency to just say ‘Oh, they’re a better team, so we’re just going to hold back and let them go.’ But I was pretty proud of how we fought today,” he said.

After Elysia Woody and Sofia Darrell scored about 50 seconds apart to give the Falcons an early 2-0 lead, Coe-Brown stormed right back, displaying confidence you wouldn’t think a 1-6 team could possess.

Annie Peacock scored at the 17:37 mark from just inside the 8-meter arc to cut Bow’s lead in half. When the Falcons scored three more goals two minutes apart, the Bears answered again, this time on a goal from Kendall Nester that cut the deficit to 5-2.

But that’s when Bow really turned up the pressure, ending the first half on a 7-0 run capped by Bridget Ehrenberg’s goal with 1:05 left in the half.

As they usually do, the Falcons used their speed to put the game away.

“We’re wicked quick. That is our game. Being fast, speed,” Raabe said.

While Taylor Darrell and Maggie Vogt account for a handful of that speed in the midfield, Raabe said she has at least 10 players who are lightning quick.

Darrell uses that speed to ditch the double-teams that frequently flank her.

“I’m honestly pretty comfortable with my stick and cradling since I’ve been playing since I was in fourth grade,” said Darrell, who will continue her lacrosse career at Division I University of Delaware next season. “So I just try to keep calm, look for my teammates because I believe that all of them have my back and are working to get open. I know someone is going to be there for me.”

Nester scored two more goals to open the second half, cutting Bow’s lead to 12-4 with 17:31 left to play and Sammi Roche added another goal eight minutes later to make it 13-5, but that’s as close as it would get.

Elizabeth Guertin and Brenna Gardner each scored their first varsity goal for Bow, while Sofia Darrell and Woody finished with two goals and one assist apiece. Pinky Fleury made six saves in net.

Heading into the second half of the season, there’s another loss the Falcons are hoping to avenge, and they aren’t shy about admitting that.

“The Derryfield loss stings a little bit. But I think the feeling of losing by a goal in the last however many minutes it was is going to help us,” Raabe said, thinking back on last year’s 15-14 loss to the Cougars in the opening round of the D-III tournament.

In fitting fashion, the Falcons will close out the regular season with a visit to Derryfield on May 25.

“We’re really coming for revenge. We want that win,” Darrell said.

As much as she knows her team is looking forward to that game, Raabe knows there’s six games between now and then and one of them is against defending champion Laconia.

“We have them, we have Laconia,” Raabe said of Bow’s remaining opponents. “Those are going to be two big games. I’m sure in the middle there will be somebody who steps up but yeah, those are big games.”

The Falcons don’t mind using their past losses as fuel, but they hope there aren’t too many more losses to learn from in the future.