Monday’s rain might have slowed some lacrosse teams, but not Falmouth.
The Yachtsmen, the defending Class B boys’ state champions, scored the first eight goals in a 15-7 victory at home against Greely.
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“I wasn’t really surprised we played the game,” Falmouth Coach Mike Lebel said. “I had been keeping an eye on the weather reports and it looked like there was going to be a lull in there. I knew it was not going to be a hard rain and it was going to be intermittent.”
While several high school baseball and softball games were postponed, lacrosse games went on as scheduled on turf fields in Falmouth, Portland and Scarborough.
“I was anticipating the girls were going to be cranky because they were playing in the rain,” Scarborough Coach Marcia Wood said, “but it was the first game of the season and they were so excited about playing that they forgot about the rain.”
The Red Storm, the defending Class A state champions, opened with a 13-0 victory against McAuley.
“When you play in the rain, we just try to get through the game,” Wood said. “I tell my players, ‘I know it’s not going to be pretty but let’s just get through it.’ “
This season, Falmouth will play 10 of its 12 games on a turf field. In addition to their six home games, the Yachtsmen will play on artificial surfaces in Yarmouth and Portland. In Saturday night’s opener, played on the turf at Hannaford Field in Cape Elizabeth, the Capers eked out an 8-6 victory against the Yachtsmen.
“It was really good for us to get right back out after the Cape game,” Lebel said. “It was really good for our psyche, our mind-set to get a big win.”
If Falmouth didn’t have a turf field, Monday’s game wouldn’t have been played.
“The thing the rain affects the most is the sticks,” Lebel said. “The pockets get wet and they tend to stretch a little bit, and that affects the accuracy. It gets into the kids’ heads.”
Rain has less of an effect on the sticks used by the girls.
“The girls’ stick is different than the boys’,” Wood said. “The boys have a little bit more mesh because the pockets on their sticks are deeper.”
Wood said having a turf field aids in the smooth operation of the girls’ lacrosse program at Scarborough.
“I don’t like playing (it) by ear and having to reschedule games,” she said. “This allows us to keep on track with our practices and games.”
FALMOUTH GOALIE Cam Bell will return tonight for a game against Yarmouth.
A senior, Bell sat out Falmouth’s first two games of the season.
Bell received a one-game suspension from the Maine Principals’ Association after receiving a game misconduct during Thornton Academy’s 8-4 victory against Falmouth in the Western Class A hockey final. School officials added another game to Bell’s suspension.
GAMES TO WATCH: At 11 a.m. Saturday, Scarborough, the two-time defending Class A boys’ state champion, will cross over from the Southern Maine Activities Association to play Western Maine Conference power North Yarmouth Academy at Yarmouth.
In another crossover game Saturday, defending Class A girls’ state champion Scarborough will visit defending Class B girls’ state champion Yarmouth at 4 p.m.
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at: pbetit@pressherald.com
Twitter: PaulBetitPPH
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