Posted: Mar 29, 2019
The Cambridge Boys Lacrosse team played on the road against the Harrison Hoyas, on Wednesday, March 20th winning 9-7 bringing their record to 4-5 for the season.
Showing some great early energy, the Bears collected the first face off and showed a few early quality offensive possessions with crisp passes and shots on goals. Minutes into the first quarter, Junior Attackman, Zach Shiffman put the Bears on the board 1-0 with a looping dodge and clean shot into the net. Team defense was effective early in the game. During one series, the Hoyas shot several shots on goal that were denied by goalie Danny Dexter or stopped by a defender. Junior defenseman, Ian Woods, had a key steal after several attempted shots by Harrison. After the Hoyas tied the game, Freshman Tyler Morris shook his defender from behind the goal and zipped a ball into the goal putting the Bears back in front 2-1.
As the 2nd quarter got underway, Tyler Morris made another key contribution on a pass to a cutting Chase DuMond just above goal line for a sweet catch and score by DuMond. After Shiffman yet again showed his speed and craftiness to pass by two defenders for his second goal, the Bears had moved ahead 4-1. Harrison stood up and mounted a solid comeback putting two points on the scoreboard midway through Q2 cutting the lead to 4-3. After a few key defensive stops, the Bears offense regained good execution as Bryson Hawkins fed a perfect assist to DuMond. His quick flick of the right wrist delivered a strike into the net putting a cushion back into the Bears lead 5-3. Harrison's goal before halftime closed the 2nd period with a 5-4 score.
Harrison began the 2nd half on fire scoring quickly after several Bear turnovers and defensive miscues. Within minutes into the 3rd period, the home team had taken a 6-5 lead on Cambridge. At that point, the defense settled in and played tough to include excellent ground ball work and forced turnovers against the Hoyas. Down by one goal, the Bears offense began to regain form. While the team took 14 shots on goal and delivered only a few goals, the activity and energy during the 3rd quarter sparked the outcome. It was the ability to maintain possession---Cambridge had possession over two-thirds of the quarter---that ensured the lead would be taken again. Shiffman's third goal of the game coming off a successful defensive ride by the offensive players tied the game. Shortly after winning the next face-off, Midfielder Reese Pieroni gave the Bears the lead back again on a driving dodge with shot ensuring a 7-6 lead.
The fourth quarter included several key defensive plays by both teams. Harrison met resistance each and every trip to its offensive zone as the Bears held the Hoyas scoreless for nearly 19 minutes of play over the course of the second half. Key hustle plays helped ensure the win, including one of the game's highlights a hustle to the opposite field sidelines by Bryson Hawkins who arrived before his defender and drew a foul helping to keep the offensive possession. Minutes later, Ian Dexter extended the lead with a downhill dodge from 20 yards above the goal and a perfect shot into the net. Cambridge had 26 ground balls for the game led by Hawkins and Dexter who each had four. The Hoyas scored on a man-up goal with about one minute left in the game leading to a vital final face-off. Sophomore, Chase Schalit had one of the game's key highlights on a loose ball grabbed during that final face off. With possession, the Bears were able to beat the Hoyas on a defensive press as Dexter nabbed a 2nd goal to end the game and deliver the victory 9-7.
The Bears play Chattahoochee on Friday, March 22nd in a key game at Cambridge Stadium.