Lacrosse Snags Two Dominant Wins
While some teams are struggling to get out onto their respective fields, the boys’ lacrosse team’s season is well underway. Big Red has already played five games and has posted a 3-2 record thusfar. The winning percentage doesn’t jump off the page, but the losses have been by two goals and one goal. In their first five games, the team has built a 56:27 GF:GA (Goals for: Goals against) ratio.
This past weekend, the team routed their opponents, each by double digits. In a Friday Night Lights-esque contest, Exeter took on the Purple Penguins of Cushing. The team had a little bit of a slow start, but once they put a few in the jar they did not stop. They scored goal after goal and played shutdown defense, resulting in a 16-4 win.
“This weekend we didn’t have the strongest competition which was good for us as we needed a refresher on some of our plays.”
Hoping to carry Friday’s momentum into Saturday’s game, the boys went up against a hard-working Tilton team. It was another dazzling offensive performance and several of Exeter’s attackmen were able to contribute to the success. Topping even the Cushing game, the team tallied 18 goals and held Tilton to just eight.
“We’re starting to play better together,” upper tender Malcolm Ogden said. “We’re understanding our offense more and more as the days go by.”
Offensive mogul lower Bradley Ingersoll said most of the team’s success came from constant hard work. “This weekend we didn’t have the strongest competition which was good for us as we needed a refresher on some of our plays.”
Now that its season is up and running, the team has really started to gel. Like many teams at Exeter, a large asset is their camaraderie.
“We have a really close team this year,” senior captain Tucker Lemos said. “Coach Glennon has instituted a ‘Big Brother’ program were one of the older guys adopts a new player as their little brother.” With a large roster that spans all four years, player-to-player support will be a very important moving forward.
Ingersoll also noted the upperclassmen’s positivity and support of the younger guys. “The upperclassmen have done a great job of welcoming and being supportive of the lower classmen,” he said. “This has helped all of the new players feel comfortable which allows them to perform.”
After posting a GF:GA of 34:12 this weekend, it may seem that the team is in a comfortable position. However, Ogden mentioned that the team still has room for improvement. “Our ground balls still need a lot of improving,” Ogden said.
The team is going to need to stay hungry in upcoming weeks as they take on Portsmouth Abbey, Pomfret and Dexter. Portsmouth Abbey is next on the schedule, as Big Red will head down to their place looking to continue their winning streak.