TOPSHAM — After losing 16 players from last season’s unbeaten Class A state championship boys’ lacrosse team, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Brunswick.
Not necessarily.
The Dragons, who were 16-0 last season, could be ready to pick up where they left off.
Brunswick received goals from 10 players Thursday while rolling to a 17-7 victory against Mt. Ararat in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference game.
“When you graduate that many players, a lot of people say, ‘Well, you’re not going to be that great,’ ” Brunswick Coach Don Glover said. “The thing is this group of kids is very hard-working. … This is not going to be a flashy team. We’re sticking to basics (but) we’re deeper than people think.”
It was the opener for the Eagles, who lost 21-4 to the Dragons last June in the first round of the Eastern Class A tourney.
Brunswick opened its season April 13 with an 8-2 victory against Edward Little.
“I’d say we had more confidence than we did going into our first game,” said Jameson Cyr, a senior attackman who led the Dragons with four goals. “We were the underdogs because we had lost so many seniors, but I think we kind of proved ourselves against Edward Little and now we’re even more confident.”
Brunswick has 19 new players but seems to have the right attitude.
“We’re trying to continue the positivity we had last year because our seniors were just positive at all times,” Cyr said. “Even if we were (behind), our seniors maintained that good attitude, and that’s what we want to do this year, too.”
Grover said the coaching staff is trying to keep it simple.
“We had a calculus class last year, (and) we just needed to make sure they understood everything,” he said. “This year it’s Algebra 1 and basic concepts. It’s a good challenge for the coaching staff.”
After scoring the first seven goals, the Dragons held a 12-3 halftime lead.
The game was played on running time for more than four minutes early in the third quarter after Brunswick moved into a 12-goal lead, but the Eagles rallied.
Christian Glover, a long-stick midfielder, had three goals and two assists for the Dragons. Ben Palisy and Max Gramins each had two goals. Josh Clark added a goal and two assists. Henry Doherty, Andrew Eno and defender Nate Granholm each had a goal and an assist. Freshman Aiden Glover and defender Keenan Andrews each added a goal.
Elliot Pressman led Mt. Ararat with two goals. Andrew Waltz, Jake Steinman, Sawyer Watson, Hank Gilson and Parker Levy also scored.
Levy’s goal was a rare feat for a goalie.
“We changed our clear-out because we know that Brunswick likes for the goalie to be the ball handler,” said Mt. Ararat Coach Matt Haskell. “We gave him the safest route. We worked on it in practice. ‘Parker,’ we said, ‘if they don’t pick you up go ahead and shoot’ and he did.”
Levy, who carries a stick with a much larger pocket than other players on the field, put in a shot from about 10 yards for his team’s second goal of the game 5:25 into the second quarter.
The Dragons held a 29-12 edge in shots on goal.
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