Ansel Kipp of Brunswick, left, tries to get the ball from Chase Cornwall of Greely during their Class B South quarterfinal game on Saturday in Brunswick. Eli Canfield/The Times Record
BRUNSWICK — The Greely boys lacrosse team had one thing on its mind heading into Saturday’s playoff affair with one word on its mind.
Win. So they did.
Behind four goals from David Kenney, and an excellent game from Spencer Osgood in net, the No. 10 Rangers (6-7) earned a hard-fought win over the No. 2 Dragons, 15-8.
“We know we’re the underdogs in all of this,” said Greely senior midfielder Ben Hirsh. “That gives us all the motivation we need. We let the talent we have and our game plan take it from there.”
The Dragons jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead just 10 minutes into the game, but that didn’t faze the experienced Rangers.
Brunswick coach Jason Miller, center, talks to his team during a timeout during Saturday’s playoff game against Greely at home. Eli Canfield/The Times Record
“That’s just how the game of lacrosse works,” said Greely head coach Mike Storey of his team’s early deficit on Saturday. “We have experience in situations like this and know that if we panic, bad things will happen.”
The Rangers didn’t panic, and with some big stops from Osgood, who finished with 15 saves, they were able to claw their way back. They took the lead for good in the second quarter on a Hirsh goal that went over the shoulder of Brunswick starting goalie Jake Reeves, off the crossbar, and into the back of the net.
“Sometimes there’s a little luck involved,” said Hirsh. “That one was big. We really rallied around each other when we needed it.”
Brunswick finishes at 11-2.
“I think we showed our inexperience and age a little bit today,” said Brunswick head coach Jason Miller. “I think today (Saturday) we unfortunately got knocked off our game and got out-hustled. It definitely wasn’t the best game we played this year.”
After the Dragons jumped out to a 3-0 lead, the Rangers called for time to calm the nerves.
“I told them we have a lot of lacrosse left, to not get discouraged, and just play our game,” said Storey. “That worked out well for us.”
Max Rudgers of Brunswick, left, tries to go past Colin Petty of Greely during Saturday’s game at Brunswick. Eli Canfield/The Times Record
Greely stormed back after the timeout with four unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead.
After Hirsh’s highlight goal, the Rangers got a goal after a Reeves turnover in his own circle, followed by a Matt Kennedy goal to make it 7-4 Greely.
In the second half, as the Rangers outscored the Dragons 8-3 to take full control.
“They made good adjustments, we weren’t able to counter those on the field,” said Miller. “That was a good team we faced today, I just feel like we had a lot of chances that didn’t go our way.”
Tommy Bennert added three goals for the Rangers, while Chase Cornwall, Jacob Sharp, Parker Sasseville and Nick Fallon each had one apiece.
The Dragons were paced by Gus Silverman and Tommy Labbe, who each had two goals. Sean Lyne, Nick Marro, Zach Stern-Hayes and Mux Rudgers all added a goal each, and Labbe had three assists.
The Rangers move on to face No. 6 Yarmouth on Wednesday in the Class B semifinal round.
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