BRUNSWICK’S JOSH MUSICA (29) is defended by Falmouth seniors Aiden Gallup (17) and Henry Farnham during Saturday night’s boys high school lacrosse game in Falmouth, won by the host Yachtsmen, 10-7. MIKE STROUT / THE FORECASTER
FALMOUTH
Falmouth’s undefeated boys’ lacrosse team not only had to deal with the elements Saturday night, but the Yachtsmen also had to contend with the loss of a spiritual leader and a determined foe that just happens to be the defending Class A state champions.
But in yet another positive sign that it might soon be celebrating a title of its own, Falmouth overcame everything and produced another impressive victory, 10-7, against the visiting Brunswick Dragons.
The underdog Dragons took an early 2-0 lead on goals from senior Max Gramins and junior Aiden Glover, but the Yachtsmen settled down and by the time the first quarter came to a close, held the lead, thanks to goals from seniors Nick Farnham, Brendan Hickey and Lou Mainella.
Senior Henry Farnham added a goal early in the second period before Brunswick snapped a 16- plus-minute drought on a goal from sophomore Jack McDiarmid.
Mainella countered with another goal, but in the final minute of the first half, senior captain and defensive/ faceoff standout Emmitt Zinn went down with an apparent knee injury and had to leave the game.
The Yachtsmen were shaken, but collected themselves and extended their lead when Mainella and junior Riley Reed scored goals in a 15-second span in the third period.
After junior Nolan Lyne got a goal back for the Dragons, ending a 14-plus-minute drought in the process, Mainella scored at the horn to make it 8-4 heading for the fourth quarter.
There, Nick Farnham scored his second goal and after senior Henry Doherty and junior Nate Girardin scored to draw Brunswick within three, senior Kristian Valle delivered the knockout blow with 3:32 remaining.
Glover scored one more time, at the horn, but Falmouth closed out the victory.
The Yachtsmen got four goals from Mainella, improved to 9-0 on the season and in the process, handed the Dragons their third loss in 10 contests.
“We knew this would be tough,” said Falmouth coach Dave Barton. “I still think that’s the best-coached team in the state over there. They have kids who rise to the occasion in big games, so I’m not surprised it was close.”
Two of the best
The teams haven’t met often over the years, just twice in fact, in 2010 (a 10-7 Yachtsmen victory in Brunswick) and 2011 (a 13-1 home win for Falmouth).
Saturday, the Yachtsmen won again, but the Dragons didn’t make it easy.
In the first 24 minutes, Falmouth had a decisive edge in shots, 24-8, but 11 Connor Pendergast saves kept the game close.
Brunswick didn’t go quietly in the final stanza, but Falmouth’s defense never let it truly get interesting.
The Yachtsmen held a 10-9 edge in faceoffs, a 42-27 advantage in ground balls (St. Louis had a game-high six, while Henry Farnham, Mainella and Tucker each collected five) and enjoyed a 43-23 shots advantage (27-15 on cage). Falmouth overcame 18 turnovers, and for the 19th game in a row, the Yachtsmen held the opposition under 10 goals.
“We know we’re lucky with our defense,” Barton said. “They’re sponges. We have a great coach (John Leonard) who works with them. We’ve seen some great attackmen, but the guys coach themselves. We want to make teams earn goals and we did a good job.”
Pendergast stood tall with 17 saves. Girardin had a team-high five ground balls. The Dragons turned the ball over 25 times.
“(Falmouth’s) exceptional,” said longtime Brunswick coach Don Glover. “Our challenge coming here was to ignore the scoreboard and play to our potential. I’m proud of the guys for not buckling and stepping up to the challenge. The shot stats were (lopsided) at halftime. We closed down well and we went to the zone and Connor made some saves. They have an exceptional defense. We knew that. We tried to find some seams, but they locked it down really well. That team right there, that’s the number one team in the state. They’re so skilled.”
Championship dreams
Brunswick (now third in the Class B Heal Points standings) closes the regular season with a home game versus Maranacook Tuesday and a trip to Mt. Ararat May 29.
“We’re getting closer to the second season and we just want to get better,” Don Glover said. “The two overtime losses we had, we were ahead on the scoreboard, but we made mistakes and it came back to haunt us. This game, we came out hard.”
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