Big second half lifts Nashua North boys lacrosse past Dover

NASHUA – The Nashua High School North boys lacrosse team knew what it was facing if it didn’t play well Wednesday against Dover.

The Titans were a loss away from starting 0-4, not the spot they wanted to be in coming off a successful campaign a year ago.

Despite that, North got off to a slow start against the Green Wave, but was able to overcome a two-goal deficit at halftime by outscoring Dover 9-1 in the second half on the way to a 13-7 win at Stellos Stadium.

Tom Haller led the Titans (1-3) with five goals and freshman Todd Redman added three goals and three assists to help North to its first win.

“We challenged them at halftime,” North coach Keith Bertrand said. “They knew what was at stake, that we didn’t want to go into that 0-4 hole, and they responded. I’m incredibly proud of how they came out in the second half as a team and put that game away.”

Ryan Marvin also had two goals for North while Joey Paige, Brendan Martin and Jake Redman had a goal each. The Titans opened the second half with nine straight goals, including five in a span of 4:28 that stretched from the third quarter into the fourth.

“The first half, we dominated, but the second half … lacrosse is all about possession,” Dover coach John Silverio said. “We couldn’t maintain possession in the offensive end in the second half and if you get enough shots on a goalie, the ball is going to start going in.”

The Green Wave (1-2) got two goals apiece from Kieran Lombard, Bryce Sczekan and Dominic Silverio, while Chris Beardsworth played well in goal.

Dover took a 6-4 lead into halftime, and it stayed that way early in the third quarter, as neither team could keep possession for long. After a few transition attempts came up empty for North, the Titans slowed things down and started working for a shot, and once they did, the goals followed.

“We weren’t throwing the ball away in the second half like we were in the first,” Bertrand said. “Mason Dane had four or five huge groundballs that led to our offense making the transition. We slowed it down a little, got organized, got the right personnel on the field and got the ball in their sticks.”

While Haller had two goals in the third and another in the fourth, Todd Redman helped create opportunities for the Titans by working to get himself open, or find an open teammate. That included finding Haller all alone in front of the goal for a score early in the fourth, and a goal of his own that came when two Dover defenders dropped off to stop a pass.

“Todd Redman always makes excellent decisions with the ball, as a freshman, and his lacrosse IQ just took over,” Bertrand said. “(The defense) was huge because they were getting the ball on the ground and our poles were like vacuums getting the ball in the second half. They were making two or three passes and making the right decisions in the clearing game and getting the ball into the stick of Redman.”

North returns to action on Saturday, when the Titans host Gloucester, Mass., while Dover is back on the road April 27 at Pinkerton.