St. Mary’s boys lacrosse defeats Lynn

LYNN – It had been a very long time in between wins for the St. Mary’s boys lacrosse squad. The Spartans entered Saturday’s affair with Lynn with just one victory, and had been 0-for-May. Yet St. Mary’s received a four-goal performance from midfielder Brian Griffin, and teammates Andrew Markham and Matt Molloy each added a pair, as St. Mary’s knocked off Lynn, 10-2, at Manning Field.”It’s good to finally be back in the win column,” stated Spartans coach Dan Ritchie. “The guys know we’re looking at the big picture, as we’re a young team and looking forward to the next couple of years.”Neither team could muster anything in the first few moments of the opening quarter, as it was more of a feeling-out process for both squads. Griffin hit a post midway through the period, yet Markham would give the Spartans a 1-0 edge with just over a minute remaining in the quarter. He took a feed, and beat goalie Riley McManus from inside the 30 for the game’s first score.St. Mary’s (2-14) broke the game open in the second. Griffin netted his first score less then two minutes into the stanza with a 20-yard strike. Both teams went scoreless for the next five minutes before Spartans attacker Steve Poliskey increased the lead to 3-0. Teammate Aaron Reddick raced downfield through the Lynn side of the field, and to the left side of Lynn’s net. He hit Poliskey with a short pass, and he fired the ball past McManus for the score. St. Mary’s added two scores late in the half, just over a minute apart, for the 5-0 halftime edge.”The first quarter was a feeling-out process for us, getting to know our opponents,” Ritchie said. “But we were able to turn it on in the second (with the four goals).”Lynn (2-12) came out the aggressor in the second half, storming the Spartans net with several chances. Midfielder Ricky Bigwood was robbed by goalie Chris Delvecchio from in front, and teammate Ricky Duggan had an opportunity gloved by Delvecchio moments later.Griffin added his second score of the contest midway through the period with a shot from just inside the 20. Duggan broke the shutout 34 seconds later, but Molloy got that goal back near the end of the period by flinging the ball from the 30 past McManus for a 7-1 lead. Griffin completed his hat trick with less than a minute remaining in the stanza to give St. Mary’s an 8-1 advantage heading into the fourth period.Goals by Griffin and Markham sandwiched a score by Lynn defenseman Robbie Nelson in the final quarter to round out the scoring.”Robbie’s been playing for three years, and scored his first-ever goal on his first-ever shot,” aid Lynn coach Peter Pappagianopoulas. “(Attacker) Jared Chen and McManus played well for us.”