SWAMPSCOTT — Raw conditions, coupled with a biting wind and cold drizzle, weren’t enough to derail the Big Blue’s (2-0) explosive offensive attack Thursday at Blocksidge Field against Lynnfield (1-2), as Swampscott cruised to a 16-10 win.
Swampscott’s John Von Barta was the man of the hour, scoring six goals and adding one assist. Jason Rothwell, Ollie Braham and Emerson Joy each had two goals and one assist. Goalie Colton Alex finished with seven saves.
Faceoff specialist Luke Michigan dominated, winning 20 of 30.
“Our faceoffs are killing it. They are doing great,” Swampscott head coach Geoff Beckett said. “Our attack is finding those open spots and getting in there and putting the ball in the back of the net. John is a tremendous player. He was injured last year, so I love having him back. He proved himself as a captain as a junior, and he’s been crushing it since we started. Luke is just a hard worker who has worked on his craft since he was a young kid. You’ll see him out here before and after practice, so that’s what it takes to work on his faceoff craft.”
The Pioneers were led by John Powers and Sean Bridges, who each recorded hat tricks and added one assist. Matt Falzarano chipped in two goals and an assist. Goalie Steven Morse made 10 saves.
Lynnfield coach Pat Lamusta said that despite the loss, he was pleased with the Pioneers’ progress.
“They were very good at faceoffs, and their midfielders were great on the wings as well, so we had our hands full today,” Lamusta said. “We’ve seen some big guys this week who were very physical. We really needed to play a no-mistake game in order to get ahead, but we saw improvement this week alone since our first two games. We felt like our attack did a much better job on the ride, creating opportunities in transition.”
The Big Blue wasted no time setting the tone, jumping out to a 5-1 lead thanks to two goals from Von Barta and solo scores from Michigan, Rothwell and Braham.
Lynnfield’s Powers and Sam Curley cut the deficit to 5-3 heading into the second quarter.
Swampscott came out strong to start the second and stretched the lead to 8-3 on goals from Joy, Johnny Marino and Von Barta. A pair of goals from Lynnfield’s Falzarano cut the lead to 8-5 with less than a minute to go in the half before Braham scored with less than 25 seconds remaining.
Lynnfield pulled within two goals, 9-7, with five minutes left in the third quarter on goals from Bridges and Anthony Calla, but that was as close as the Pioneers got.
“Our goalie has been working really hard,” Beckett said. “The fact that he was still focused after they put in a couple of goals was nice to see.”
Tyler Ostroff (goal), Jack Duffy (goal), Will Rowe (assist), and Will Ficken (assist) rounded out the Big Blue’s scoring, while Josh Bernabei notched an assist for Lynnfield.
“It’s nice to have a couple of new guys,” Beckett said. “We’ve got Will Rowe, who hasn’t played since middle school and is only a sophomore. He just plays all over the place and is doing a great job.”
Lamusta highlighted the play of several Pioneers.
“Sean Bridges is really coming into his own,” Lamusta said. “Captains John Powers and Sam Curley (five ground balls) played very well. Brendan Driscoll (four ground balls) is our do-it-all guy. He plays defense, does faceoffs and can clear, so we’re really leaning on him a lot, and Matt Falzarano is doing a nice job.”
Lamusta was pleased with the balanced scoring.
“It’s not too top-heavy in any one direction, so that’s been cool to see,” he said. “I’m happy to see a little bit of balance when it comes to scoring.”
As far as season goes, Beckett said it’s all about the Northeastern Conference, starting with the Big Blue’s next game Wednesday against NEC foe Winthrop.
“That’s really all I care about. I want to crush the NEC,” Beckett said. “I know we have Winthrop coming up, so that’s definitely my next goal, to take care of Winthrop because they’re basically a cross-town rival. I know they have a lot of weapons, so we want to make sure we have everything in order against those guys.”
Lynnfield hosts Winthrop on Saturday at 10 a.m.
“From what I hear, they are returning a bunch of guys, but it’s been a couple of years since we played them,” Lamusta said. “We’re expecting it to be another track meet, another team with a bunch of threats.”
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