By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
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Photo by Jim Powers
Hunter Day puts a shot in net against Barnstable last Thursday. |
Playing at home against two of the top programs in the region this week, the boys varsity lacrosse team dropped both games by just a single goal. The Whalers lost to Maritime League East champion Barnstable 9-8 Thursday and Division III East runner-up Cohasset 8-7 Saturday.
The Whalers fell to 13-5 overall on the season with one game remaining on the schedule. Nantucket will travel to Martha’s Vineyard this afternoon to close out the regular season. Division III East tournament pairings will be announced Friday.
While the Whalers might have been disappointed with two losses, the squad played well enough to win both games at the end, an indication of solid lacrosse being played at the right point of the season.
“Looking at the big picture, we know we can compete with anyone, which is something we have been working toward. The emphasis for us right now is preparing to compete in the tournament. We are really focused on playing our best and not worrying who the opponent is,” head coach Rick Blair said.
Against Cohasset Saturday the Whalers came out a little slow against a Skippers squad that has been to the division finals the last three seasons. Nantucket trailed 6-2 at the half.
“We talked about that in the time-outs and at halftime and to their credit they responded and played an excellent second half. But we can’t afford to give away a quarter and a half of lacrosse to anyone,” Blair said.
In the second half Henry Farrell gave the Whalers a spark with strong challenges on face-offs, and scored two of his team-high four goals from the midfield. But the Whalers’ offensive production was not at the level Blair expects from his team. Against one of the top goalies in the division, the Whalers took 41 shots on net, converting only seven.
“With guys like him you have to get their feet moving and shoot high or low and change the plane of your shots, and we didn’t do a very effective job of that,” Blair said.
Despite the struggles, the Whalers battled back in the fourth quarter with goals from Farrell from up top and Gaven Norton in a man-advantage situation. Ray DeCosta tallied the final score with 49 seconds remaining to pull Nantucket within one goal.
Nantucket lost the ensuing face-off and implemented a tight pressure defense to get the ball back. The Whalers had the ball with 6.8 seconds on the clock, but could not score the equalizer before the horn sounded.
Against Barnstable at home Thursday, the Whalers were out to avenge a 16-5 loss earlier in the month.
“We were embarrassed the first time we played them over there. The guys came out and wanted to play better on their field and I think Barnstable was a little overconfident,” Blair said.
The Whalers opened with a physical first half, out-muscling a very physical Red Raider squad. Nantucket led 6-2 at the break.
“I thought in the second half we let their All-American candidate Brett Serriello take control a little too much in the third quarter. He was the difference. He won the face-offs and scored three goals in the second half,” Blair said.
Barnstable’s loaded offensive core battled back and tied the score at 7-7 by the end of the third quarter before overtaking the Whalers for good in the fourth.
Farrell finished with three goals, while Norton (two assists), Henry Toole, Hunter Day, Delroy Lawrence and Teddy Fales scored one each in the loss. Lawrence played strong defense against Barnstable’s other scoring threat Bryce Serriello. Joe Bopp made 12 saves in goal.
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