Derryfield boys lacrosse executes on both ends, gets revenge in win over Concord
There were a handful of reasons the Derryfield School boys lacrosse team was able to pull away from Concord in the first half of Wednesday’s game.
MANCHESTER – There were a handful of reasons the Derryfield School boys lacrosse team was able to pull away from Concord in the first half of Wednesday’s game.
The Cougars were able to execute on both ends of the field, they went after groundballs and won the faceoff battle.
But then there was another factor – revenge.
The Crimson Tide were the only blemish on a championship season a year ago for Derryfield, and the Cougars got a bit of payback with a 13-3 win over Concord in a non-division matchup.
“I think these guys really played with energy and I was really happy with the energy,” Derryfield coach Chris Hettler said. “We had an idea of what they were going to do on defense. It was similar to what they did last year and the difference was we came out and executed this year. Last year was sloppy and we might have overlooked them a little bit.
“That’s a very good team. I’m incredibly proud of the way these guys played.”
Derryfield (14-0 in Division II) got three goals and three assist from Eric Mayer and Connor Glosner added four goals to lead the way. Jon Maclean also scored three goals and Lee Sipes had two goals and two assists.
Robbie Dowst also had a goal and an assist and John Anderson and Brian Schwab each had two assists. Avry Truex made 11 saves.
“We just didn’t execute the little things and it snowballed quick,” Concord coach Jeff Smith said. “That’s something we’ve got to get back to in practice. Every (groundball) counts, every pass matters, and when you play good teams, you make those mistakes, they’ll make you pay for them.”
Brendan Pearl had a goal and an assist to lead Concord (9-5 in D1) while Brad Hicks and Dan Rydel also scored. Ethan Donlon made 13 saves, but early on, Derryfield was able to convert on some difficult shots.
Concord made it 3-2 on Rydel’s goal with four minutes left in the first quarter, but the Cougars scored twice in the final 2:23 of the frame, and outscored the Tide 3-0 in the second to take an 8-2 lead into halftime.
“The guys shot really well,” Hettler said. “(Donlon) is a great goaltender and we had to shoot around him. The guys were on fire.”
As was Derryfield’s defense, as it forced Concord into nine turnovers during that 5-0 run. The Tide finished the game with 21 turnovers.
“They were just playing solid defense,” Smith said. “It was just fundamentals and they played it better. They extended out and they pressured. They popped out into our pass lanes a little bit. The simple passes, we made them harder, and we didn’t connect.”
