FALMOUTH—A year ago, the offense of Falmouth boys’ lacrosse team could be predictable at times and as a result, the Navigators fell short of their goal of playing for a state title.
This spring, there’s no telling where Falmouth’s goals are going to come from.
And that spells misery for the opposition.
Falmouth’s prolific balance was on display Wednesday afternoon against visiting Deering in an early-season Class A battle.
With the Rams playing without several starters, the Navigators carried play throughout and while Deering sophomore goalie Vinny Cavallaro did all he could to keep his team in it, Falmouth shot to a 5-0 lead after one quarter.
The Navigators then ended any lingering doubt with an 11-goal second period explosion, which featured a seven goal outburst in less than three minutes in one stretch.
With a mercy rule running clock speeding up matters in the second half, Falmouth scored four more goals in the third quarter and tacked on two more in the fourth, while the Rams managed one, and went on to a decisive 21-1 victory.
Thirteen different players tickled the twine, eight of them doing so twice as the Navigators improved to 2-0 on the young season while dropping Deering to 0-2 in the process.
“We’ve referenced last year’s state semifinal game (an upset home loss to South Portland) a lot,” said Falmouth coach Dave Barton. “Everyone in the stadium knew what we were going to do and that was a huge problem. We were too predictable and robotic. We’ve tried to work on putting some structure in offensively and having some read-and-react. We’re seeing that with the scoring being spread around.”
Unstoppable
Falmouth’s run of state final appearances ended last year at four with an upset home loss to South Portland in the Class A state semifinals as the Navigators wound up 13-3.
This season, Falmouth aims to finish the job and enjoyed a most impressive 17-0 home win over Marshwood in its first outing last week.
Deering, meanwhile, made great strides in 2023, improving from one win the season before to six and making it to the playoffs before losing to Windham in the state preliminary round to wind up 6-9.
The Rams returned a lot of talent and hope for even bigger things this spring, but they fell at home to Thornton Academy in the opener, 16-6.
The teams last met May 14, 2019, when host Falmouth rolled to a 13-1 victory.
Wednesday, on a 48-degree, breezy afternoon, Deering showed up without nine players, due largely to the game being played during April vacation week, and the Rams had to get creative to field a team.
“We’re down nine guys and we had to play three guys who have never played lacrosse before,” said Deering coach Geoff Arris.
The Navigators started firing early and had Cavallaro under siege throughout.
Deering sophomore Jordan DiBiase and Falmouth sophomore Hayden Davis (1) and senior Elijah St. Louis fight for a ground ball early in the Navigators’ 21-1 victory Wednesday. Hoffer photos.
Just 41 seconds in, Falmouth’s first shot saw junior Gio Guerrette hit the post.
The Navigators then went in front to stay with 10:56 on the first quarter clock, as junior Evan Yale set up sophomore Ian Christie for a 1-0 lead.
Cavallaro kept the Rams within hailing distance by denying Yale, junior Ty Garlock, Garlock again and sophomore TJ Saulter, but with 7:25 remaining, Yale scored unassisted.
A mere 30 seconds later, Yale set up sophomore Hayden Davis to make it 3-0.
“Bringing in a guy like Evan Yale, who sees the field, gives us an element we haven’t had,” said Barton.
Deering went man-up midway through the frame and managed a shot, but senior Trip Marston was denied by Falmouth junior goalie Cam Sinclair.
Senior captain Cole Allan then got in on the scoring fun for the Navigators with 4 minutes left and 55 seconds later, Davis scored for the second time, on a bounce shot, to make it 5-0.
After Sinclair denied sophomore Joey Foley, junior Joey Guerrette tried to add to Falmouth’s advantage, but his reverse shot hit the post and the hosts took a five-goal lead to the second period.
There, the Navigators completely pulled away.
Just 30 seconds in, Christie scored unassisted.
With 9:39 remaining in the half, Gio Guerrette scored his second goal, unassisted.
After junior Miles Thaxter rang a shot off the post, Garlock scored unassisted to make it 8-0, forcing Arris to call timeout.
It didn’t stem the tide, as Joey Guerrette scored unassisted seconds later.
After Allan hit the post, Gio Guerrette scored unassisted after a nice fake with 4:37 left in the half.
The floodgates then opened, as senior Aidan Clapper scored unassisted off the ensuing faceoff eight seconds later, Yale set up Saulter for a goal with 3:43 on the clock, Allan scored unassisted 26 seconds later, then Garlock scored unassisted after a dodge with 2:46 left making it 14-0, forcing Arris to try another timeout.
The Navigators didn’t relent, however, as Clapper scored unassisted with 2:28 on the clock and 32 seconds later, Yale finished unassisted to make the score 16-0 at halftime.
In the first half, Falmouth won 14 of 18 faceoffs and had a dominant 37-3 advantage in shots (28-3 on cage).
Cavallaro made a dozen saves for the Rams.
The entire second half was played with a running clock.
Deering senior Trip Marston and Falmouth sophomore Peter Kearns do battle in the faceoff circle.
Just 33 seconds in, junior Indi Backman raced in and scored unassisted.
After Saulter hit the post, Yale found sophomore Zack Small for a goal with 3:44 on the clock.
An unassisted tally from freshman Kian Long with 1:45 remaining made it 19-0 heading for the fourth quarter.
There, freshman Winn Ross scored unassisted early for Falmouth’s 20th goal.
After Marston and Foley each had shots saved, Deering finally broke through with 3:49 left, as Foley scored unassisted, beating sophomore Jamie Frueh, who had come on to play goalie at halftime.
The Navigators scored once more, as freshman William Davis set up Small for the goal that accounted for the 21-1 final score.
“We’re young, but what I’m learning to love about this group is they love to compete and celebrate each other,” Barton said. “Guys out there are making plays and the guys on the bench are recognizing it.
(Deering’s) a good team. They played TA tough. They’re going to be heard from later in the season. It’s a frustrating scenario against an undermanned team, but give them credit. I really like the way they competed.”
Allan, Christie, Clapper, Hayden Davis, Garlock, Gio Guerrette, Smith and Yale all finished with two goals, while Backman, Joey Guerrette, Long, Ross and Saulter added one apiece.
Yale also had four assists, while William Davis added one.
Frueh and Sinclair both had two saves.
Falmouth won 17 of 26 faceoffs (as sophomore Peter Kearns excelled in that role), had a commanding 45-19 advantage in ground balls (Kearns led the way with a half dozen), enjoyed an ever bigger edge in shots (59-7 overall, 41-5 on cage) and only turned the ball over 11 times.
For Deering, Foley scored the goal and Cavallaro dazzled with 20 saves.
“Vinny did great,” said Arris. “He’s a game-changer for us. He gets it done. He saw the ball well and had a good day. They have a lot of legit shooters.
“Our goal was to score once and build off that. It happened. I’m proud of that. We just talked about effort and making a difference.”
Moving on
Deering will try again to get in the win column when it welcomes Massabesic Tuesday of next week.
“We have some really good guys and we’re looking to bounce back,” Arris said. “We’ll wipe this off and we have Massabesic Tuesday, then Freeport Friday and that’s a personal one for me (after previously coaching there). We’ll be good to go.”
Falmouth hopes to improve to 3-0 Friday when it plays at Scarborough.
“Friday will be the first time we’ve been on a bus,” said Barton. “(Scarborough’s) improved and they’re finding their identity. One thing we’ve talked about more than anything this year is in the locker room and on the field for warmups, I shouldn’t know the difference if we’re playing Marshwood or Thornton Academy, Deering or Cape Elizabeth. You only get 14 chances to compete and everything after that is earned. We’ll enjoy this tonight, then we’ll learn from it. Knowing this group the way I do, we’ll get better tomorrow and I’ll walk in the locker room and it’ll feel like it did today.
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net
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