Boys' Lacrosse Overcomes Unfavorable Conditions to Beat NMH

Big Red boys’ lacrosse traveled to NMH on Saturday and battled through humidity and two hours of travel to come home with a hard-fought 9-6 victory. Many anticipated a tough game going into the weekend, but Exeter rose to the challenge, piling on more momentum in the process. Going into this Saturday’s game against Deerfield, the boys have chalked up four consecutive wins (including yesterday’s W against Holderness).Most on the squad attributed the victory to great team play. This 2014 roster has struggled at times with getting contributions all over the field, sometimes being overwhelmed on defense despite the good work on offense, and sometimes lacking the firepower to complement solid defensive work. Against NMH, however, the offense managed to find the net consistently while the defense managed to keep the opponent’s attack at bay with some timely help from upper goaltender Thomas Stockham.“Everyone gave it their all,” prep Mac Perry said. “We played a great team game.”Exeter also benefited from a quick start. Oftentimes this spring, the team has not been able to impose itself on the game until the second half. Thankfully, this was not an issue on Saturday.“We played well on both offense and defense starting from the first quarter,” senior co-captain Curran Sullivan said. “It gave us the edge in a close game.”Big Red will play their penultimate home game this weekend, and being their Senior Day, the graduating players will be honored at Phelps Stadium. Exeter lacrosse will bid farewell to seven seniors at the end of the season, less than half of last year’s graduation number. Although the seniors will undoubtedly be missed, the core of the 2014 team will be intact next spring, and the future looks bright.For now, though, the players are focused on this season and Saturday’s big showdown against Deerfield. Since their 2-3 start (including the Bridgton scrimmage), the boys have rebounded to post an 12-4 record, looking to make it five wins in a row against Big Green. In lacrosse, the Deerfield game is almost just as big as the Exeter/Andover clash, and Exeter has come close to snapping their decades-long losing streak against Deerfield for three consecutive years. Perhaps this will be the season.The consensus in the team when asked about their chances against Deerfield seems to be “play like we did against Tabor and not like we did against Avon, and we have a shot.” At the top of their game, this Big Red squad can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the league, but the young team has fought through bouts of inconsistency this year. They finally seem comfortable with each other in recent games, and they fancy their chances.“We need to show up at our best and ready to play,” senior co-captain David Ayscue said. “If we do, I don’t see why we can’t win.”