PEABODY — They say practice makes perfect, and while the St. Mary’s boys lacrosse team wasn’t quite perfect on Wednesday, the Spartans managed to turn a great practice the day before into a 7-4 victory over Bishop Fenwick at Donaldson Stadium.
“We had a great practice (Tuesday), and everything the guys did well in that practice they were able to translate into this game,” said St. Mary’s coach Wayne Silva. “We’re coming off a tough loss Monday against Matignon, and the guys really needed this win. It was a great performance all around.”
Peabody native and junior middie Brady Ayles led the offensive attack for the Spartans with four goals and one assist, while Nahant native and senior captain Seamus Foley scored two goals. Salem native Jack Silva added one goal and two assists, while sophomore Ben Fry had one assist.
On the defensive end, Swampscott native Daniel Domeniconi played another great game in net and Salem native Patrick Babineau forced a number of turnovers on the back end.
On the Fenwick side, Tyler Mullen led the way with one goal and two assists. Anthony Sasso added one goal and one assist, while Kevin Wood and Chris Stevens each scored one goal.
“It’s a tough loss and we wish we could’ve found the net a few more times,” said Fenwick coach Dave MacKenzie. “I thought our goalie played really well and kept us in the game, but we just couldn’t get the offensive support on the other side.”
The game got off to a slow start for both teams, as only one goal was scored in the first quarter and three total goals were scored in the entire first half.
After seven minutes of scoreless play, the Spartans drew first blood when Silva sent a pass from behind the net out in front to Foley and the senior captain buried it for a 1-0 St. Mary’s lead.
The second quarter was much of the same, with the first seven minutes of the frame going by without a goal on either side. But then, after Eric Toto laid down a massive check that knocked the ball loose, Silva picked it up at midfield and raced behind the net. Once again, he sent a pass out front to a waiting Foley for a goal and the 2-0 lead.
Fenwick was able to get one back before the half behind a great effort from Wood, who picked up a loose ball near midfield and bullied his way into the box before ripping a shot into the back of the net to make it 2-1 Spartans.
But St. Mary’s threatened to run away with the win in the third quarter, coming out of the gate and scoring three unanswered goals — two from Ayles and one from Silva — to jump ahead 5-1. Once again Fenwick was able to get one back before the end of the quarter, this time on a tally from Sasso.
After Ayles scored an unassisted goal in the first three minutes of the fourth to make it 6-2, Fenwick went on a small run where it scored two unanswered goals — one each from Mullen and Stevens — to make it 6-4.
But then, with 2:48 remaining, Ayles rounded out the scoring when he pushed his way into the box and found the back of the net for the fourth time.
Fenwick (1-1) plays on the road at Arlington Catholic Friday (4).
“It’ll be another tough league game, and we know we’re going to have to bring another strong effort if we want to pull out a win,” said MacKenzie.
St. Mary’s (1-2) hosts Austin Prep Friday (5).
“We know it’s going to be a tough game against a very good team, but it’s also a good measuring stick for us,” said Silva.
