By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
The boys varsity lacrosse team dropped a key game to Maritime League front-runner Barnstable last Thursday on the road 13-6.
The Whalers, who are fighting for an automatic bid to the playoffs by finishing over .500, fell to 5-6 overall on the season. Scheduled games against Scituate and Sandwich were both postponed due to inclement weather this week. With six games already on the schedule over the final nine days of the regular season, neither has a scheduled make-up date.
“We are struggling to make the playoffs and we are close. We need to spring a minor upset to make the playoffs and it makes it that much more difficult when you don’t have rest between games,” head coach Rick Blair said.
“To make the playoffs we have to win out against teams we are favored to beat: Bourne, Bishop Stang and Pembroke. We also have to spring an upset against one of the more highly-ranked teams and the Vineyard is one of them.”
The Whalers were scheduled to face Bourne yesterday, too late for this edition of Sports. Also on tap this week will be the rematch against Martha’s Vineyard scheduled for Friday night at 6 p.m.
“When we played them over there, we couldn’t have done more things wrong and they were really feeling a vibe. They were really mentally prepared and we weren’t. I am hoping this time around it is a little bit different,” Blair said.
The Whalers are scheduled to visit Bishop Stang Saturday, Cohasset Monday and Scituate Tuesday. They will close out the season at Pembroke on Thursday.
League battle
Against Barnstable last Thursday the Whalers challenged the top team in the Maritime League.
“It was a really close game. It was probably the best game we have played all year despite the fact that we lost,” Blair said.
The Red Raiders jumped on top quickly, taking the 6-2 lead before the half.
“They have one player who is a real effective outside shooter and a guy that can shoot on the run. He put in a couple pretty quick goals. It was an evenly-contested game, but I think the difference was probably they were a little more effective outside shooting team than we were,” Blair said.
The Whalers didn’t cave in despite the four-goal deficit. Nantucket put up two quick goals in the third quarter to pull within striking distance, but the Red Raiders kept fighting to stay ahead. Nantucket trailed 8-6 at the beginning of the fourth quarter and had a man advantage. They were unable to convert on the scoring opportunity and instead turned the ball over and gave up a goal at the other end.
The Red Raiders scored three more times in the quarter as the Nantucket defense had to press for the turnover to try to get back into the game.
Despite the loss, it was a positive game for the Whalers, Blair said.
“Overall I think it was good movement in the right direction. I thought the communication on close defense was the best it has been all year,” Blair said. “The last couple games we have been much better on ground balls than we had been before.”
With season-ending injuries to Hadi Nabulsi and Lorne Paterson, the Whalers have been thin on the defensive side of the field. Jake Visco, Chris Getman and Matt Marrett have stepped up alongside Ted Fales to play solidly in front of Keith Clemens in net.
The Whalers have also been able to call up Mike Ciarmataro and Jamie Viera from the junior varsity level, both of whom contributed in the game against Barnstable.
Henry Farrell led the Whalers with four goals and was solid on faceoffs for the Whalers, while Gaven Norton chipped in with two goals in another solid all-around game.
“Gaven is playing the style he needs to play to be effective: hustling after ground balls, riding, getting open in the slot and getting open in the crease which is what we want him to do,” Blair said.
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