Boys' Lax Rebounds From Loss Against Holderness
Following their tough loss to Deerfield, boys’ lacrosse responded brilliantly, romping to a 17-4 victory over Holderness in the team’s final home game of the season and the boys’ last tune-up before their rivalry game at Andover this Saturday.
Exeter found themselves agonizingly close to recording a shocking victory over Big Green on Saturday, holding on to a one-goal advantage in the final quarter thanks to two goals from post-graduate Pete Anastos and senior co-captain Nick du Pont and one from senior co-captain David Ayscue, only to allow four late, unanswered goals for a final score of 5-8. The boys were anxious to play yesterday to put the memory of the near-upset behind them and shift their focus to their upcoming trip to Phillips Academy.
“We really wanted to get out on the field and rebound from Deerfield, especially since we were so close to coming away with the win,” senior co-captain Curran Sullivan said. “It was an opportunity to get back on track and sharpen up going into Andover.”
Holderness looked overmatched by Exeter’s superior skill and physicality from the first whistle. The 13-goal margin of victory is a testament to Big Red’s dominance throughout the tilt. The comfortable win meant that the boys could regain some momentum before the E/A ame as well as keep everyone on the roster sharp going into the season’s final test.
“Our game was solid all around and everyone’s play looked sharp, which is encouraging,” prep Mac Perry said.
Big Red has been playing some of its best lacrosse as of late, despite suffering defeat last weekend. They boast a 6-2 record over their past eight games, and they put in dogged performances as the underdogs against Brewster and Deerfield even though many doubted that they would even put up a proper fight. After what seemed like a much more up-and-down season than years past, Exeter’s record stands at 14-5, and this inexperienced team has the opportunity to better the impressive 14-5 season from the 2013 squad despite losing over half of its roster and graduating four Division I recruits.
On the other hand, archrivals Andover have endured a tumultuous season and have a 2-4 record over their past six games and an 8-7 record overall. Big Blue offered some glimpses into their squad’s abilities with a 14-0 shutout over Holderness and gutty 11-7 and 9-6 victories against Northfield Mount Hermon and Bridgton respectively, but they have also suffered a 9-16 loss against Tabor and a 5-12 blowout at Deerfield’s hands.
Judging by the two teams’ contrasting records, it would be easy to write this off as an easy, fourth consecutive Exeter victory over Andover. The team is all too aware, however, that the game almost never plays out like you would expect it to on paper.
“I think this applies to any Exeter/Andover game, but records really go out of the window when we meet,” Sullivan said. “The closest thing to a blowout that we have had during my time here was [the 7-3 win] last year.”
Indeed, even during PEA’s most successful season in history, the 2011-2012 season, it took an overtime winner from all-time points leader Charlie Gill ’12 to lift Big Red over their archrivals.
“We can’t assume anything,” Ayscue said. “If we play like we have been playing, I think we can win, but if we show up unfocused, we could lose the game for ourselves.”
“We need to be ready for a battle,” Sullivan said. “It’s the last game of the season, and no one on the team wants to end the school year with a loss to Andover.”