LYNNFIELD — A big third quarter was just what Lynnfield’s boys lacrosse team ordered Thursday afternoon at Pioneer Stadium in a 17-9 win over Pentucket.
The game was back and forth with Lynnfield (6-2) clinging to a slim 8-6 lead at halftime, but the Pioneers ramped it up on both ends of the field in the third with a 9-0 blitz to break the game wide open. The next thing you knew, it was a 17-6 Lynnfield lead heading into the final quarter.
Pentucket (3-4) showed some life and closed to within three, 17-9, with about two minutes to go, but it was too little, too late.
“The tale of the tape was the third quarter,” said Lynnfield Coach Pat Lamusta. “We had a really big third quarter. Personally, what I loved about the offense today were the fastbreak goals. You saw one from Michael Murphy pushing the ball. You saw Brendan Driscoll being able to push the ball in transition on fastbreaks. Johnny Powers also had a nice transition goal. That was great to see and we also converted on man-up opportunities. And our man-down defense was so solid today – it was huge.”
Owen Considine had a massive game, scoring four goals with five assists and two ground balls.
“Owen continues to do his thing,” Lamusta said. “He’s everywhere.”
Paul Daley scored four goals and had two ground-ball pickups. Powers notched a hat-trick with one assist. Kelan Cardinal (3 assists, 3 ground balls) and Murphy (2 assists, 4 ground balls) scored two goals each, while Owen Doherty (2 assists) and Driscoll (4 ground balls) also scored.
Ben Pimentel was rock-solid between the pipes with 17 saves.
Tied, 4-4, with time winding down in the first quarter, Cardinal beat the buzzer to put the Pioneers on top for good, 5-4. They bumped the lead to 8-6 in the second quarter after a pair of goals from Daley sandwiched around one from Considine.
“Paul Daly had several goals today – he’s just so fast,” Lamusta said.
The Pioneers kept their foot on the gas in the third. Powers started the barrage with a goal (from Considine) just 18 seconds in. Three minutes later, Driscoll picked up a ground ball and went the length of the field to make it 10-6.
Powers (from Doherty) needed only 13 seconds to convert a man-up opportunity at the 8:27 mark to make it 11-6. The Pioneers closed out the run with two goals from Murphy (from Cardinal and Considine), two goals from Considine (from Murphy, unassisted), Cardinal, and Doherty (from Murphy) to put the game out of reach.
While the offense was clicking, Lamusta said he was equally pleased with the defensive effort and highlighted several players for their strong play.
“We were able to play some man-to-man defense early and then we decided to jump in and play a bit of a mix-up defense,” Lamusta said. “The kids have been really cerebral with it. Kids like Brendan Driscoll, Kelan Cardinal, who is playing long pole and short stick and has really helped us out this week being without Gabe Schumaker, one of our long poles. Kelan has been doing it all and stepping up.
“Our defense is young. Guys like freshman Luke Mancinelli have had to learn really fast and are doing a great job, and Kellan Farrias, who is only a sophomore, has an integral position on the defense. He’s been great in man-down defense and is really stepping up.”
The Pioneers have an 11-day layoff until their next game, which is scheduled for April 28 in Amesbury. When asked what he plans to do to keep his team sharp over the spring break, Lamusta wants to keep practices “competitive.”
