Boys’ Lacrosse Pummels Portsmouth Abbey

This past Saturday, the boys’ varsity lacrosse team traveled down to Portsmouth, Rhode Island, to face off against Portsmouth Abbey School. Despite the lengthy two hour drive, the players emerged from the game with a thrilling 9-4 win, adding a fifth win to their successful season. The team now stands with a four game win streak and an overall record of 5-2.

Players of all grades had their moments during the game. Lower Griffin Walker scored two goals, along with upper Ben Peffer. Senior captain Nick Luzzo, meanwhile, netted two goals and upper Jon Bradbury scored a highlight-reel backhand goal to put the game out of reach for Portsmouth in the second half. Senior goalie Devin McCabe also played a strong game, making consistent saves and shutting down any loose players that got through at Exeter’s defensive end. 

While the team has a lot of strong individual players, the boys also made a lot of collaborative plays that aided their victory. Post-graduate Grant Quinn said, “Unlike our previous games where we were scoring primarily off individual dodges and shots at goal, we had a lot more assists in our game against Portsmouth Abbey which helped us dominate against a strong opponent.”

Big Red refused to become cocky after their 8-6 win against Proctor Academy last Wednesday. They continued to focus on identifying weaknesses and improving on them in practices. Before their match up with Portsmouth Abbey, the team worked hard in every drill, whether it was simply passing or dominating in man-up scenarios. 

Another focus this season has been working on how each player can improve. Quinn explained, “Obviously we work on our team weaknesses in settled offence and defense, but we also come to every practice with two to three individual weaknesses that we need to work on before the next game.” This came after a home loss against Holderness earlier in the season. Since then, the Rampant Lions have not lost a game.

In upcoming practices, the team will focus on improving every small detail it can, like retaining possession. According to Bradbury, an important part of possession is “securing ground balls and maintaining poise on offense.” The team will also watch a film of their other opponents to scout out any lethal weapons that Exeter will face in the future. Exeter will devise methods of shutting down those key players while also building an offense to overrun the opponent’s defense.

The goal for the season is to improve in every practice, work together and give all their effort in the remaining games, with the ultimate goal of beating Phillips Academy Andover. As Luzzo put it, Big Red Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse hopes to “compete day in and day out and try to win every game.” 

This past Saturday, the boys’ varsity lacrosse team traveled down to Portsmouth, Rhode Island, to face off against Portsmouth Abbey School. Despite the lengthy two hour drive, the players emerged from the game with a thrilling 9-4 win, adding a fifth win to their successful season. The team now stands with a four game win streak and an overall record of 5-2.

Players of all grades had their moments during the game. Lower Griffin Walker scored two goals, along with upper Ben Peffer. Senior captain Nick Luzzo, meanwhile, netted two goals and upper Jon Bradbury scored a highlight-reel backhand goal to put the game out of reach for Portsmouth in the second half. Senior goalie Devin McCabe also played a strong game, making consistent saves and shutting down any loose players that got through at Exeter’s defensive end. 

While the team has a lot of strong individual players, the boys also made a lot of collaborative plays that aided their victory. Post-graduate Grant Quinn said, “Unlike our previous games where we were scoring primarily off individual dodges and shots at goal, we had a lot more assists in our game against Portsmouth Abbey which helped us dominate against a strong opponent.”

Big Red refused to become cocky after their 8-6 win against Proctor Academy last Wednesday. They continued to focus on identifying weaknesses and improving on them in practices. Before their match up with Portsmouth Abbey, the team worked hard in every drill, whether it was simply passing or dominating in man-up scenarios. 

Another focus this season has been working on how each player can improve. Quinn explained, “Obviously we work on our team weaknesses in settled offence and defense, but we also come to every practice with two to three individual weaknesses that we need to work on before the next game.” This came after a home loss against Holderness earlier in the season. Since then, the Rampant Lions have not lost a game.

In upcoming practices, the team will focus on improving every small detail it can, like retaining possession. According to Bradbury, an important part of possession is “securing ground balls and maintaining poise on offense.” The team will also watch a film of their other opponents to scout out any lethal weapons that Exeter will face in the future. Exeter will devise methods of shutting down those key players while also building an offense to overrun the opponent’s defense.

The goal for the season is to improve in every practice, work together and give all their effort in the remaining games, with the ultimate goal of beating Phillips Academy Andover. As Luzzo put it, Big Red Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse hopes to “compete day in and day out and try to win every game.”