By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
The boys varsity lacrosse team needed four overtimes to take care of business on the Vineyard Thursday. In the final match-up of the regular season, 63 minutes deep into the game, Ray DeCosta found Gaven Norton on the crease to seal the 9-8 victory and give the Whalers a boost heading into the playoffs.
The Whalers closed out the regular season 14-5 overall and second in the Maritime League East division behind Barnstable. The extra victory earned Nantucket the fifth seed in the Division III East postseason tournament. The Whalers are scheduled to host 12th-seeded Bourne today at home at 5 p.m.
“It is an important win. It could have been a devastating loss,” head coach Rick Blair said. “It is a tight-knit group of players, which is nice to see. I am sure they feel now they can compete with the tougher teams. They played very good team lacrosse (Thursday), which is what they are going to have to do in the playoffs.”
The Division II playoff-bound Vineyard was looking to avenge a 10-8 loss on Nantucket earlier in the season, when it trailed 8-1 at halftime before battling back to tie the game 8-8 in the fourth quarter. The Whalers scored two late goals to escape with the victory.
Thursday’s game would be just as close down the stretch, needing four extra periods to determine the winner.
“They played an aggressive zone scheme. We knew they were going to do that, but it’s not something we play, so in practice we didn’t prepare for that as well as we might have,” Blair said. “Their goals were sort of lunch-pail goals, where our goals were more of an artistic success, but they all count for one.”
The game was back and forth throughout, with three lead changes in the first half and the Vineyard leading by two at the break.
“We had a number of unforced turnovers in the first half. The home-field advantage served them well in the first half. They were dressed and practicing when we got there. They were probably more ready to play in the first half,” Blair said.
But by halftime, the Whalers knew if they could play their game, they were confident they could pull out the victory.
With under five minutes remaining, Henry Farrell scored his fourth goal of the game, an unassisted score from up top to tie the game at 8-8.
The Whalers thought they had the game in hand with under three minutes left when Jamie Viera appeared to score what would have been the game-winner. The hard outside shot apparently went through an unlaced section at the bottom of the net and rolled out the back. The officials ruled no goal and the game went into overtime where both teams had opportunities to score.
The Whalers had a number of good looks from the crease, while the Vineyard had three man-advantage situations in the first overtime alone. After three four-minute overtime periods and halfway through the fourth, the Whalers finally converted.
DeCosta beat the zone defense behind the net and dumped off a pass to Norton all alone on the crease. Norton placed it in net for the game winner.
Jon Higgins played a solid game on the defensive end alongside Matthew Marrett and Delroy Lawrence. Defensive midfielders Henry Toole, Josh Sibley Liddle and Hunter Day also played well in the win. Goalie Joe Bopp recorded 14 saves.
Farrell led the offense with four goals and two assists, while Norton scored three times and tallied one assist. DeCosta scored two and added one assist, while Taylor Thayer contributed an assist.
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