Posted: Feb 28, 2020
The Cambridge Boys Lacrosse team fell to 1-2 on the season after coming up short at Blessed Trinity on Tuesday, February 25th.
Both teams opened the game with energy and aggressiveness. The Titans got on the board first as throughout the game their attack line moved the ball with speed and efficiency. The Bears defense collected an early turnover giving the ball to the offense down 0-1. Senior Captain, Chase DuMond, swung from behind the goal looping past his defender delivering a low line shot into the net making it 1-1. Throughout the game, Blessed Trinity would go on fast spurts. Before the middle of Q1, BT led the Bears 3-1 and momentum was slipping until a key turnover led to a nifty dodge move by Reese Pieroni who fired a laser into the net. Minutes later, on an offensive possession where both teams had players serving penalties, Senior Middie, Zach Shiffman, delivered a timely pass to Tyler Morris who drilled in the score tying the game again 3-3.
Possessions were critical against the Titans, who displayed extremely fast and effective offensive plays. The Titans took a lead again before the Bears went on a hot streak. Zach Shiffman's quick dodge and right-handed shot tied the game at 4-4. Face-off Specialist, Charlie Cardullo, drew a penalty on the next play leading to a man up situation. Senior Ian Oblen's heads up loose ball grab and shot put the Bears into the lead on a sequence drawing another penalty on the Titans. Captains' DuMond and Pieroni worked over the defense for another goal during the man-up possession as Pieroni drilled another score off DuMond's assist making it 6-4 Bears. With ten goals scored before end of the quarter, the Titans again got hot nabbing three straight goals including one to close the quarter putting the score at 6-7.
The Bears defense went into lockdown mode during the 2nd quarter. Beginning the quarter with a two-minute penalty and facing a challenging man down situation, the Bears made multiple stops and showed perseverance as multiple Titan possessions led to either turnovers or key saves by goalie, Drew Toeppner. In one man-down sequence, Senior Defensemen, Matthew Lodigensky stepped in front of a pass to thwart a score stealing the ball back to our offense. Soon after, Sophomore Winn Peebles created a turnover in the defensive end helping to keep the game close.
With the Bears down 6-8, Sophomore Defenseman, Ethan Landry brought the ball up the sidelines on a clear and faked two defenders allowing him to race into the Bears offensive zone. With patience and great timing, Landry made one of the game's best plays drilling the ball into the net for a rare long pole goal. The Titans added one more to finish the second quarter, but the Bears had steadied things going into halftime 7-9 as the defense gave up only two goals during the quarter.
The beginning of the 3rd quarter favored Cambridge. Reese Pieroni continued his offensive brilliance with another great dodge and score from up at the top of the zone cutting the deficit again. Minutes later, Zach Shiffman found Pieroni on a man-up possession as the Senior Midfielder laced another one into the net for his fourth goal leading to a 9-9 score. Seizing momentum, a pair of seniors helped capture the lead as Ian Dexter powered a left-handed shot into the net on an assist by Attackman, Bryson Hawkins. With their first lead since Q1, the Bears had wrestled some control. After making another defensive stop, a penalty on Cambridge gave the Titans a chance to successfully run their man up set.
With the score tied at 10-10, Chase DuMond swooped into the fray to collect a loose ball then swung past two defenders shooting a low laser into the goal giving the Bears the lead again at 11-10. Both teams kept firing on target shots all night. DuMond added his third goal on a sweet lefty shot after a brilliant dodge and pass from Senior Midfielder, Ian Dexter. The Titans made a furious push to close the quarter and built the lead back to 12-14 heading into the 4th quarter.
The first five minutes of the 4th quarter were nearly scoreless. Pieroni closed the gap again to 13-14 with just over seven minutes left leading to his fifth goal. At that point, there were several series where the Bears defense was handicapped with man-down possessions as the penalties began to increase. All through the game, Blessed Trinity would go on offensive spurts. Over a four-minute period in the middle of the 4th quarter, the Titans added four straight goals before DuMond stopped the momentum with two minutes to play making it 14-18. It was an offensive display by both teams but the Bears couldn't keep pace as the game came to an end.
The team travels to Kennesaw Mountain to play another away game on Friday, February 28th.