BRUNSWICK

A year ago, Brunswick and Scarborough squared off in the State Class A Final in boys high school lacrosse. Many of those players from the game have graduated, setting the stage for new faces, players and coaches to make their mark in the early season match.

The Dragons held court, defeating the visiting Storm, 16-8 in the “rematch” from last year’s title game.

“Both sides graduated a lot of players from that game, so there wasn’t much of a rematch feel to it,” said Brunswick coach Don Glover. “However, they’re a good team and we knew we had to be up for the game and as always play our best.”

The Dragons (3-0) jumped on the Storm early. Aiden Glover had a hand in the first three Brunswick scores to open the game. The junior weaved through defenders, firing the game’s first shot past Scarborough goalie Austin Brown for the opening goal just 39-seconds into the contest.

Nolan Lyne registered a goal when he beat Brown for the score off a Glover helper at 9:47. Just over a minute later, Glover scored again, making it 3-0 Brunswick.

“We know they’re a good team so it was important for us to come out and score early,” said Aiden Glover. “We just had to go out there and play the type of game we’re capable of playing.”

After a Nate Girardin goal, Glover netted his final goal of the quarter with his third unassisted marker of the game with 47 seconds remaining.

Brunswick goalie Connor Pendergast stopped all three first-quarter shots he faced, keeping Scarborough off the scoreboard in the first 12 minutes. Each team had eight shots in the first quarter, while Brunswick held the advantage in faceoffs, 5-1.

Scarborough (1-1) got on the board with 9:03 left in the half when Andrew Cusson found Nathan Taggart in front of the net. Brunswick answered quickly. Lyne missed a shot to the right of the net, but Glover was there to snag the ball and wrap his stick around the post, driving home his fourth goal of the game and giving the Dragons a 6-1 lead.

“They’re a well-coached team, Don does a great job with that program,” said Scarborough first-year coach Zach Barrett. “They position well and seem to be in the right spots when they need to be.”

Following another Glover goal, the Storm got a pair back with goals from Tommy Stratis and Andrew Granzier. After assisting Stratis with his goal, Granzier made it 7-3 with an unassisted tally with 2:24 left in the half.

Max Gramins scored the final goal of the half, making it 8-3 Brunswick, with an assist from Girardin, his second helper of the half.

The Dragons outshot the Storm in the first half, 16-13, while taking the face-off advantage, 8-5.

Second half

Scarborough came out in the third quarter with a little more intensity than the opening half and it immediately paid off. Granzier netted the first three goals in the first 3:34 of the third quarter, pulling the visitors within two, 8-6.

“We knew we were better than we played in the first half,” said Granzier. “I knew I had to do something to make something happen for our offense.”

“Granzier’s a great player, we knew what he was capable of,” said Aiden Glover.

Each team traded a pair of goals, including Glover’s sixth and Granzier’s fifth goals, respectively, before Gramins stopped all momentum Scarborough may have gained, scoring the final two goals of the quarter in extending Brunswick’s lead to 12-8.

“We can play with anyone,” said Barrett. “We just need to find a way to play consistent for 12 minutes, four quarters.”

Brunswick dashed any hopes of Scarborough making any come back with a pair of early fourth-quarter goals. Glover scored first, netting his seventh of the game 33 seconds into the final frame. Girardin scored his third goal when Lyne found the junior dashing through the middle, hitting the attacker in stride before firing it past Brown for the score, making it 14-8.

The Brunswick defense didn’t allow a Scarborough goal in the final quarter to preserve the win.

“We made some defensive adjustments after the third quarter,” said Don Glover. “We marked up on Granzier and took that weapon away.”

Lyne scored the final two Brunswick goals to finish off the visiting Storm. Glover led all scorers with seven goals and three assists. Lyne had three goals to go with two assists and Girardin ended the contest with three goals and three assists. Gramins had the final two Brunswick goals, while Chandler Coombs added an assist in the win.

Pendergast stopped 10 shots before being replaced late by Trey Curtis, who stopped all three shots he faced. Brown made six saves for Scarborough.

“I was pleased with how the team played tonight,” said Don Glover. “We made some nice strides on offense, but we made some uncharacteristic penalties that hurt us, and we need to work on that.”

“We’re still finding ourselves,” said Barrett. “We’re young, but we showed a lot tonight.”