HATHORNE — Win the faceoff, gain possession, move downfield quickly and pop the ball in the back of the net.
Like the music you hear on pop stations such as KISS 108, the Ipswich boys lacrosse team repeated this over and over again Thursday afternoon. The Tigers reaped the benefits from doing so, rolling to a 15-7 victory over host Essex Tech.
Senior captain Will Harrington was the top beneficiary of this offensive outburst, scoring seven times and adding three assists for a season high 10 points. Ipswich’s leading scorer now has a North Shore leading 68 points (37 goals, 31 assists) in 13 games.
“We were just flying down the field and going bing-bing-bing-bing,” said Ipswich (9-4) coach Glenn Foster, whose club led 5-1 after one quarter and held a comfortable 9-3 lead at halftime. “Their goaltender (Damian Biersteker) is very, very good, but we were able to get scoring opportunities right on the doorstep over and over by moving the ball quickly.
“That was as good as we’ve fast breaked all season,” added Foster.
Essex Tech (now 8-6) also has some high end scorers of its own, with two players over 50 points coming in and another with 36. But they were effectively neutralized by an active and very aggressive Ipswich defense.
While Biersteker, a senior captain, made 16 saves — including a couple of point blank stops that looked like they’d be sure goals — he couldn’t stem the Tiger tide alone.
“Yes, our defense needs to play better as a collective group, and they will,” head coach Sean Parsons said. “But at the same time, the players that score goals need to score goals — especially when the competition heightens.”
Sophomores Luke Wile (2 goals, assist), Finn Wright (2 goals) and Charlie Elder (goal, assist) added to the Ipswich offense. Another sophomore, long stick middie Louie Harrington (“he was an absolute terror on defense,” said Foster), added a goal and an assist plus five ground balls. Jayson Clapp and Zane Norton had single goals while Christian Gianakakis had one assist along with five ground balls.
Senior Nolan Hickey was strong between the pipes, coming up with 15 saves. Tenth grade defenseman Will Gromko showed his active sticks and had numerous checks that caused turnovers, giving Ipswich possession.
“It’s good to bounce back with a win after three straight losses,” said Foster, “but we still need to clean up a lot of the little mistakes we tend to make before the (Division 4) state tournament comes.”
Fisher Gadbois scored twice for the Hawks along with one assist; his brother Mason had a goal and three helpers. Matthew Tavares, Dominic Tiberii, Timothy Tavares and Casey Collins also had goals for the home team, with defenseman Armani Booth contributing an assist.
Sophomore Tyler McHug and Tiberii, a captain, both played well at midfield, while Hadden Amico showed his strength in the circle.
“We have a lot to work on,” said Parsons, whose team has four regular season games remaining, starting Saturday vs. Danvers, before the Vocational School tournament begins, followed by the Division 3 state playoffs. “The guys know what we have to do: we need to put four good quarters together every time out. We’ve got to flip the switch and get some momentum going again.”
Contact Phil Stacey
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