PEABODY — It’s been a while since the Bishop Fenwick boys lacrosse team has defeated Austin Prep. Monday afternoon at Steven E. Donaldson Field, the Crusaders shifted the trend back in their direction.
Behind five goals from Robby Favuzza, Fenwick grabbed a 15-14 win over the Cougars. The win is Fenwick’s first victory over Austin Prep since 2016 and its first Catholic Central League win of 2019.
“It’s definitely a good win for us,” Crusaders coach Steve Driscoll said. “I think a lot of guys stepped up. We’ve got some injuries pretty much all over the field, offensively and defensively. I know Austin Prep has guys out too. But it’s an early season CCL game. I’m sure our game at Cardinal Spellman Wednesday will be the same way. I’m sure Arlington Catholic and St. Mary’s will be the same way too. I think it shows how competitive we are with one another in our league.”
Diego Alvarez-Segee helped pace the offense with four goals and two assists. Also making key contributions were Nick Muzi (two goals, assist), Stefano Fabiano (goal, five assists), Derek DelVecchio (goal, assist) Ian Worthley (goal) and Jake Connolly (goal).
Fenwick goalie Garrett Ruszkowski made 20 saves and dished one assist. Ruszkowski helped fight a late Austin Prep surge with seven saves in the fourth quarter.
“I have to give credit to Garrett,” Driscoll said. “He played absolutely out of his mind in net. Another guy that’s playing out of position due to injury is Aedan Grenham, who had a great hockey season and kind of parlayed that into stepping up for us defensively. He played outstanding. Austin Prep has offensive talent all over the field so it was our job to try to slow them down.”
Fenwick scored the first four goals before Austin Prep clawed its way onto the scoreboard in the opening quarter. The Cougars cut Fenwick’s lead to 5-3 but back-to-back Fenwick goals
from Favuzza and Alvarez-Segee gave the Crusaders a 7-3 edge at the end of the period.
Alvarez-Segee’s goal with 11:22 to play in the second quarter bumped Fenwick’s lead to 8-3. The remainder of the period belonged to Austin Prep, which dominated possession and scored seven of the next eight goals. At halftime, the Cougars carried a 10-9 lead.
“In every single game, this one included, we’ve lost control of it and we haven’t been able to play a full four quarters yet which is kind of frustrating for us,” Driscoll said. “But it’s still early on and there’s still a lot of work to be done. The main goals that we’re stressing are discipline and execution. We have to shut down the penalties but we also have to execute.”
A 5-0 Fenwick run, started by Alvarez-Segee, gave Fenwick a 14-10 advantage midway through the third quarter. Austin Prep closed the period with consecutive goals to trail 14-12 heading into the fourth.
Favuzza started the final quarter with his fifth goal of the afternoon, padding Fenwick’s lead to 15-12. Trailing by three goals with time working against them, the Cougars didn’t make things easy on Fenwick through the final stretch. Ruszkowski, with help from his defense, rose to the occasion. Austin Prep scored its final goal with six seconds remaining but it was too little too late as Fenwick held on for the 15-14 win.
Fenwick (3-0, 1-0 CCL) travels to Cardinal Spellman Wednesday (4).
“It’s a long season and nobody knows how we’re going to play until the last week of May and into June,” Driscoll said. “That’s where our mindset is. We’re getting the job done early but we have to be playing our best lacrosse in May and June.”
