St. Thomas boys lacrosse knocks off Windham

DOVER – The rain held off for Tuesday’s high school lacrosse game between St. Thomas and Windham. The crowd gathered in small clusters, sitting in the grass on the hillside under a threatening sky.

The Saints got out to an early lead and picked up a much-needed 10-6 win over the Jaguars.

Going into the match the teams were close in the Division II standings, and according to St. Thomas goaltender Jay Gallipo, “We expected it to be close, but we knew going in they were beatable. We had a good game plan, we executed, and we got the win.”

St. Thomas (8-7) scored a strong early lead with a score of 4-0 at the end of the first quarter.

“We talked about wanting to start fast,” Gallipo said. “We did that, slowed down a bit after that, but did enough to get the win. That’s the important part.

“It usually is our strategy, usually doesn’t go so well. But this was definitely a good win for us.”

Freshman Sean Gallipo, Jay’s brother, scored three of the Saints’ 10 goals. Saints coach Sean Houlihan called attacker Jojo Grella the player of the game, as he finished with three goals and two assists. Midfielders Liam Middleton, Sam Andolina and Zach Andronaco scored as well.

A slashing penalty on St. Thomas – the only penalty of the game – in the second quarter helped Windham (10-6) gain ground, as the Jaguars scored four of their six goals in the second quarter. This was the only time Windham outperformed the Saints, and the Jaguars on the bench howled and cheered. Quite possibly St. Thomas was reeling from the effects of its aggressive first quarter.

Sean Gallipo scored a dramatic goal before halftime, lunging into the fray in front of the net to shoot mid-air. He landed on his back, with streaks of dirt across his jersey for the rest of the game.

The goalies carried the fourth quarter. Each team could only land the ball in the net once, with St. Thomas scoring its final goal in the last minute.