DANVERS — The Lincoln-Sudbury boys lacrosse team scored a couple of early goals and never looked back on Thursday, defeating St. John’s Prep, 7-5, in a non-conference game at Cronin Field.
The Warriors struck first with 10 1/2 minutes to go in the first half and got a second one a minute and a half later.
The first quarter showed heavy defense from Eagles goalie Alex Kreher, who fiercely protected the net despite two infiltrations so early on.
“We need to do a better job of clearing the ball,” said Prep coach John Pynchon, “I think there were five or six clearing turnovers that directly led to goals or easy scoring opportunities.”
Eagles captain Jack Rickards scored St. John’s first goal during the latter half of the first quarter as the Preps offense began picking up momentum.
However, the Warriors scored twice more in the quarter, and then closed it out with two minutes left in the period on a goal by Owen Toland.
“In the first quarter we were a little unsettled,” Pynchon said. “They did some things X’s- and O’s-wise that we weren’t yet ready for.”
The second quarter brought no relief to the Eagles, as the Warriors scored with 10:52 to go. Less than a minute later, however, Bryan Penney heated up the offense for the Eagles by bringing the ball back to the Warrior’s territory. After being battered by the Warriors, Jake Surette netted the second goal for the Eagles to make the score 6-2.
The Warriors continued their physical play and it took its toll on the Eagles as Lincoln-Sudbury scored its seventh and final goal with 3:20 left in the third quarter.
The Eagles struck back with a swift vengeance, with Michael Ott scoring their third goal.
“Overall I think the defense played really well to come back out in the second half and to be more aggressive on ball, which is what we wanted off the bat,” said Pynchon.
The Warriors were relentless in their fight for control over the ball from the beginning of the third quarter, but the Eagles’ strong passing led to another goal, making the score 7-4, and creating a tense atmosphere. For 5 1/2 minutes, the Eagles had a difficult time getting their offense into Warrior territory, and the defense made some key saves to keep the game close. The Eagles’ defense ended strong, and they were able to hold back the Warriors brute force until the end of the quarter.
The Prep snagged the ball at the beginning of the fourth quarter, making calculated moves and more passes to increase its chances of scoring. Trevor Roy just barely missed a shot against the Warriors. The Eagles score their fifth goal with six minutes left in the game, by Luke Hendricks. But it was not enough to keep the relentless Warrior offense away from the Prep net.
The Warriors took control of the ball and refused to St. John’s get back into the game.
The Eagles (0-1) have a week off before opening up their Catholic Conference schedule on Thursday against Catholic Memorial back at Cronin Field.
