BRUNSWICK — The Brunswick High School boys lacrosse home opener on Friday was a game the Dragons were looking forward to after opening with wins at Oxford Hills and Messalonskee to begin the Eastern Maine Class A season.

Not only were the Dragons home in front of a nice-sized crowd, but on the other side of the field was rival Mt. Ararat, sporting a 1-0 mark after opening with a home win against Messalonskee.

Brunswick showed how far last year’s 6-6 team has come in a short time, rolling out to a 5-1 first-quarter lead and never looking back in a 13-7 victory under the lights.

The Dragons are off to a 3-0 start, with one week to prepare for a showdown with defending Eastern A champ Lewiston (this upcoming Friday at home, 6:30 p.m.).

“We wanted to come out comfortable and run the offense our way, and on defense do the same thing,” said Brunswick coach Don Glover. “Our boys responded well in the second half, settling down and working on ball movement.”

Breaking the tie

Brunswick’s Cam Glover opened the scoring off a nice setup from Chris Snyder just 1:32 in, but Mt. Ararat struck back on a Nick Oram goal.

From there, the Dragons opened things up, getting three goals from Bailey Caparratto over a 1:36 span for a 4-1 lead, and Winston Sullivan, who assisted on two of Caparratto’s first-quarter goals, finished off the opening 12 minutes with a score for a four-goal Brunswick lead.

“We needed to move the ball around, and it was important for us to play our offense and play our game,” said Caparratto, who scored his fourth goal of the first half with 10:10 remaining until halftime off a feed from Sullivan. “We were waiting for the slide and hitting the crease well tonight.”

Sam Fortin owned the faceoff dot throughout the game, winning 11 of 17, including his final 10.

“Sam Fortin was incredible on the faceoffs, and it’s an art he has really gravitated to, winning close to 70 percent this season,” said coach Glover. “It’s really a possession based sport, and he has given us that.”

Mitchell Cooney (assisted by Seth Holmblad) upped the Dragons’ lead to 7-1 before Mt. Ararat pushed back, getting a goal each from Kellan Bonnar and Jordy Francine to close to 7-3 at the half.

“We had a little bit of jitters going on, and Brunswick did a great job in faceoffs, and in the second half they were making it, taking it and scoring,” said Mt. Ararat (1-1) coach Matt Haskell.

Things became chippy late in the first half, with both teams whistled for several infractions.

“It was a little bit physical in the first half,” said Brunswick defenseman Sam Bessey. “The rivalry is good, and the game does get tough between these two teams.”

Mt. Ararat began the second half with a man advantage for one minute, but the Brunswick defense of Bessey, Blake Bodwell and Charlie Nau kept the Eagles from getting a good look at the goal. In the Brunswick net, goaltender Theron Wilgus turned aside 11 shots.

Cam Glover added two more goals in the second half, while Alex Croatti, Holmblad, Sullivan and Fortin chipped in a goal each to close out the 13-7 victory.

For Mt. Ararat, Josh Richards scored two secondhalf goals, with Oram and Jeremy Hart adding a goal each, while Eagles goaltender Ed Maguire had 15 stops.

Haskell and his Eagles face another tough task at home on Tuesday against Lewiston (6:30 p.m.).

“We had a great first game (a 9-6 victory over Messalonskee), so these first three games will tell us where we are,” said Haskell, who received solid play from defensemen Zach Greene, Robert Cornelison and Brett Martin, along with midfielders Hart, Bonnar and Thomas Gross.

On the other side, Glover sang the praises of his hardworking team after opening with three quality wins, outscoring opponents 30-10.

“I have a love for all of the teams I have had over the last 20 years, but this group of guys is a group of hard-working kids, with no superstars, and have bought in wholeheartedly to the system,” said Glover, who received four assists from Sullivan. “These kids have a good time and have a good knowledge of the sport.”

Brunswick 13, Mt. Ararat 7

Mt.Ararat — 1 2 1 3 — 7
Brunswick — 5 2 2 4 — 1

Goals — (MA) Nick Oram 2, Kellan Bonnar, Jordy Francine, Josh Richards 2, Jeremy Hart; (B) Cam Glover 3, Bailey Caparratto 4, Winston Sullivan 2, Mitchell Cooney, Alex Croatti, Seth Holmblad, Sam Fortin.

Assists — (MA) Jordy Francine, Jeremy Hart 2, Kellan Bonnar; (B) Chris Snyder, Winston Sullivan 4, Seth Holmblad 2, Charlie Nau, Alex Croatti, Mitchell Cooney, Sam Fortin.

Shots on goal — Brunswick 28, Mt. Ararat 18.

Saves — (MA) Ed Maguire 15; (B) Theron Wilgus 11, Chris Mrvichin 1.

Records — Brunswick 3-0, Mt. Ararat 1-1.

Next — The Eagles host Lewiston on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., while the Dragons entertain the Blue Devils this upcoming Friday at 6:30 p.m.

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