NORTH EASTHAM – While it wasn’t the blowout, statement victory that the Nauset boys’ lacrosse team put forth from their season-opener, the Warriors’ 10-9 overtime victory over Bourne on Friday afternoon was a statement in itself.
Nauset’s Marc Takajian speeds by Bourne High’s Nick Pavilonis in Friday’s 10-9 overtime win for the Warriors.
Phil Garceau photo for Capecod.com Sports
After flexing their offensive muscle in Wednesday’s 16-5 win over St. John Paul II, the host Warriors showcased their ability to overcome adversity in their second game of the season, showing off their true grit with a last-second, come from behind victory.
With 42.4 seconds remaining in the game, the Warriors’ Mike Vigneau broke a nearly 24-minute, scoreless drought when he found the net on the man-advantage from the right wing to tie the game at 9-9 and set the table for the dramatic overtime period.
Both teams had a pair of chances to win the game in the extra frame, but only Marc Takakjian converted his opportunity as he let a shot rip from 10 yards out — once again on the man-advantage — to give the Warriors the win.
“It’s tough to lose in overtime, especially when it’s been a great game the entire time,” Bourne coach Tim Crowley said. “We started off ahead, then behind and we kept fighting back and it’s tough to lose that way.”
Nauset was shutout for nearly the duration of the second half, watching its three-goal halftime lead slowly evaporate as Sean Griffin, Tom Glinski and Ben Avakian scored the only third-quarter goals. Nick Pavilonis finally gave the Canalmen a 9-8 lead with 7:36 remaining in the game when he skipped a shot by Nauset goalie Nick McCarthy.
A defensive change made by Crowley at the half caused disruptions within the Nauset offense, and that showed in the second half.
“One of the things we did is move long stick midfielder (Tim Johnson) back to defense and move one of our defenders (James Corsano) to long stick midfield,” Crowley explained.
“Tim is a little bit more aggressive down low and one of the only reasons we have him on offense is he has a wicked shot, and we switched it up and it seemed to shut them down.”
Bourne High’s Ryan Pezzone reaches for the loose ball in front of Nauset’s DJ Telman in yesterday’s 10-9 Nauset win in overtime.
Phil Garceau photo for Capecod.com Sports
Once they were saddled with their first deficit since the first quarter, the Warriors’ offense still struggled to piece together any consistency as the Canalmen continued to hold possession over the last five minutes.
“I think the guys, unfortunately, didn’t settle and we didn’t settle on the attack, compared to two days ago where we had control,” Nauset coach Phil Howarth said. “A lot of our goals were individual and not assisted, but at the end of the day when they had to, they came up.”
With three minutes to go, the Warriors got the spark they needed. Bourne’s Tom Glinski forced a turnover in the offensive zone, swung behind the net and fed Avakian in front of the net, but McCarthy came up with a huge one-on-one save to keep the Warriors within one.
Two minutes later, the Canalmen were called for a penalty, leading to Vigneau’s game tying-goal.
“That second half, the attack just didn’t play a structured game,” Howarth said. “We tend to watch the ball and that was our biggest weakness.”
Both goalies came up with huge save in the overtime period, as Bourne’s Sam Lyons robbed Takakjian just nine seconds into the extra period off a faceoff win. McCarthy returned the favor shortly thereafter when he stole a goal from Avakian, but the biggest save came from Nauset defender Ben Hull.
While the Warriors were in transition, Bourne forced a turnover at midfield and moved into the attacking zone with a three-on-one break. Avakian got his hands on the ball, beat McCarthy, but Hull was there to keep the game alive.
“They had two shots in overtime and our defense saved us at the end,” Howarth said. “Ben Hull there, making a big play to get us the ball back.”
While the Canalmen fall to 0-1, Crowley was plenty optimistic about what this season holds moving forward. Bourne went 6-12 a season ago, but with its core returning and with Sam Lyons manning the cage, the Canalmen look poised to a successful season.
“I’m extremely confident about this season,” said Crowley. “I have a lot more guys, this year I have 40 guys and the last two years I’ve had 17 for both JV and varsity. All the core guys are back and they have the passion and tenacity to go as far as they want.”
— Phil Garceau contributed this story. Follow him on Twitter @pcgarceau. Edited by Capecod.com Sports Editor Sean Walsh — Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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