 |
Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Nantucket’s Taylor Thayer makes a move around a Manchester-Essex defender in the first quarter to set up a Whaler opportunity. Nantucket lost to M-E 13-9 in the preliminary-round playoff game. |
By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
Manchester-Essex played disciplined, fundamental lacrosse Wednesday afternoon and defeated the Nantucket boys varsity lacrosse team 13-9 in the preliminary round of the Division III East postseason tournament.
The 11th-ranked Hornets scored four times on their first four shots of the game in the first quarter and never looked back en route to their first-ever home playoff victory.
“It was a tough loss. We didn’t really come to play. We started out slow and then it took us too long to get back into it. We lost a majority of faceoffs and it’s tough to come back when you never have the ball,” senior co-captain Taylor Thayer said.
Manchester-Essex (14-5) will advance to play sixth-seeded Norwell in the first round. The 22nd-seeded Whalers closed out the season at 10-9 overall.
The Hornets used basic cut moves against the Whalers’ defense, which struggled to keep up, especially around the net.
“I think we forgot how to play defense around the goal for large stretches of the game,” head coach Rick Blair said. “Manchester-Essex is a very well-coached, disciplined team. They are very methodical in the way they play offense. But I will say in addition to that, nothing they did was anything we haven’t seen before. It was very well-executed fundamental lacrosse.”
Senior co-captain Jamison Viera scored a team-high four goals and had one assist, while Thayer added three goals and one assist. Ethan Lockley and Lorne Paterson also scored for the Whalers in the win.
To read the entire story, pick up the print edition or register for the I&M's online edition by clicking here. |
