LYNN — It’s not over until it’s over.
Down by five goals going into the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s Agganis boys lacrosse game, the South all-stars faced a tall order.
Their comeback effort fell just short in a 14-12 loss to the North all-stars at Manning Field.
The South knotted things up at 12-12 toward the end of the fourth quarter but the North iced its win with the final two goals of the night.
Revere’s Eric Bua and Ipswich’s Ben Yanakakis earned game MVP honors for the South and North, respectively.
“It was really cool being able to see guys that I’ve coached against,” South coach Steve Driscoll of Fenwick said. “Coaching against (North) coach (Andrew) Boepple was awesome. I coached against him when he was at Georgetown and now he’s at Masconomet. The Agganis game is a really cool event and a really cool way to grow the game, and show the talent the North Shore has.”
Driscoll made the most of having one last opportunity to coach two of his Crusaders- Derek DelVecchio and Brian Harrington.
“It was special,” Driscoll said. “I got a little teary-eyed, giving Derek and Brian a hug after the game. Those guys are what Fenwick lacrosse is all about. It’s cool being able to show off their talent and the talent across the North Shore. They deserve all the recognition they get and I’m extremely proud of them.”
The South grabbed a 2-0 lead behind consecutive goals from Bua and Mason Poisson (Marblehead) five minutes into the first quarter. Back came the North with a pair of goals, from Ryan Castle (Masconomet) and Aidan Nistl (Hamilton-Wenham) tying the score at 2-2. Jake Athanas (Manchester-Essex) got the South back on track with a tally before the North ended the first quarter on a 2-0 run with goals from Clinton Gourdreau (Hamilton-Wenham) and Alexander Trottier (Andover).
The North continued its streak in the second quarter. Yanakakis fired a shot into the back of the net two minutes into the period, stretching the lead to 5-3. Michael Sheridan (North Reading) followed suit a minute later, bumping the lead to 6-3. A pair of South goals closed the gap to 6-5. Yanakakis capped the scoring in the first half and his North all-stars carried a 7-5 lead at halftime.
Aside from Bua’s goal halfway through the quarter, the third period belonged to the North. Scores from Castle and Patrick Leary (Newburyport) made it a 9-5 North lead. Bua got one back for the South with 5:30 to play in the period. North goals from Trottier and Yanakakis put the South in an 11-6 hole going into the fourth.
But the South didn’t go down without a fight. With five of the next six goals, the South whittled the North’s lead down to 12-11.
“For a lot of the guys, the first quarter and second quarter were about getting used to the other guys out there and getting into the flow of the game,” Driscoll said. “Once halftime happened and then the third quarter, they said, ‘now we want to play.’ It’s cool because there were a ton of people here and they fed from the crowd. They didn’t want to lose. The competitive spirit was great.”
The South notched the game-tying goal with 1:15 remaining on a Brendan Laundy (St. Mary’s) tally. But the North sealed the deal with consecutive goals in the final minute for the 14-12 win.
