LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield boys lacrosse team had its bright spots Tuesday, but couldn’t put it together enough offensively in a 6-4 home loss to Hamilton-Wenham.
Despite taking an early lead, the Pioneers fell behind 5-2 before the fourth quarter. Lynnfield dominated possession time in the final frame, but just didn’t finish on enough chances to crawl back into things.
“I think the looks are there, it’s just finishing,” Lynnfield coach Pat Lamusta said. “You’ve got to finish and seize the scoring opportunities. But we’ll keep working on that. We’ll keep working on shooting and everything.”
Drew Damiani had two goals for Lynnfield, while John Briggs and Jack Calichman each had one. Goalie Niko Marotta played a great game in net with six saves.
“We have some great captains leading us,” Lamusta said. “Myles McKay, Michael Dreher and Niko Marotta in net, who had some great saves. He’s a communicator. That’s what makes him a special guy. He always makes sure the defense is on top of things.”
The defense started the day off well and Damiani followed that with two early goals to put Lynnfield up 2-1 in the first quarter. Hamilton-Wenham got one back before the second to tie things up at 2-2.
Marotta helped Lynnfield stay even with a trio of nice saves before the half, but Hamilton-Wenham’s defense held strong as well. Will Steadman had a few nice chances, including a shot that was blocked and settled right before the goalline before being controlled, but Lynnfield just couldn’t extend its lead.
A few minutes later, Hamilton-Wenham broke through with two quick goals before the half to go up 4-2. Lynnfield once again couldn’t get on the board in the third and Hamilton-Wenham added another to go up 5-2.
Briggs finally got Lynnfield back on the board in fourth, ripping a shot after a prolonged possession that cut the deficit to 5-3.
Hamilton-Wenham matched Briggs’ goal two minutes later to go back up by three. Damiani had a shot ring off the crossbar next, but Lynnfield grabbed a rebound and Calichman capped off the scoring with his goal to cut the lead to 6-4 in the final minutes.
“I think it was a really strong defensive effort all game,” Lamusta said. “You look at the ground ball column and we also did a good job there. We just have to make sure we capitalize on opportunities coming off the defensive effort. We’re getting one step closer to our team gelling and the offense coming together.”
Lynnfield (1-2) travels to Newburyport Friday (3:45).
“We’re only three games in,” Lamusta said. “The thing is, it’s a shorter season so we have to make the most of every game. Each game, win or lose, you have to make sure you’re getting a little better.”
