Brunswick boys lacrosse pushes past Mt. Ararat

Brunswick’s Robert Bowen runs up field past Mt. Ararat’s Colby Pappas during the Dragons’ 14-4 win on Monday in Topsham. (Cooper Sullivan/Staff Photographer)

TOPSHAM — The Brunswick boys lacrosse team has struggled to start games strong, but that wasn’t an issue Monday night. As coach Ben Herman points out, there’s extra motivation when the Dragons are playing on the road against their biggest rival.

Brunswick scored the first four goals and never looked back, leading wire-to-wire and eventually initiating the running clock on the way to a 14-4 victory over Mt. Ararat.

“Play hard, we wanted to come out and punch them first,” Brunswick senior midfielder Finn White said.

White had two goals and one assist and was one of six Brunswick players to score twice. James Salko, Robert Bowen and Noah Koelker also notched three points for Brunswick (6-7).

Junior attack Jack Martin scored twice for Mt. Ararat (7-6).

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Ryan Livesay and Collin Scott found shooting lanes for the Brunswick offense, while Eben White closed up lanes on the other end of the field. White, a senior LSM, intercepted a pass while the Dragons were playing a man down and raced upfield to feed Bowen, who scored with a diving shot in front of the cage. Noah Similien gave Brunswick a 4-0 first-quarter lead with a power shot from the right wing.

• Martin scored a man-up goal for the Eagles at 7:34 of the second, but the Dragons roared back with a Similien-to-Salko connection nine seconds later. With six different goal scorers, Brunswick led 7-1 at the break. The Dragons also held an advantage in possession time, shots (15-3) and faceoffs won (7-3).

“We’ve said from the beginning of the year, ‘We don’t have quantity, but we have quality,'” Herman said. “We run two lines of midfield, but we shift them the whole game anyway… it doesn’t matter the combinations you put out, they all know each other and work well.”

• Finn White had a strong third quarter, scoring his three points in three different ways: a crafty goal with a 1-on-1 move down low, a pass to Bowen in traffic, and a left-handed shot from the right wing after White’s first shot, a right-handed take from the same spot, hit the upper left-hand corner post and bounced back to him. Most of Brunswick’s offense in the third was set up by strong midfield presence and sharp passes in transition.

“It comes down to getting gritty,” Finn White said. “We fight hard for ground balls, we have a lot of long sticks and short sticks who are just out there to get the ball.”

“We were clearing the ball great,” Bowen said. “Both goalies (Brendan Drake in the first half and John Weaver in the second half) were making good passes all night, and that really helped us in transition. And that James Salko, every single fast break, electric.”

STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Brunswick: Finn White, Robert Bowen, James Salko and Noah Koelker (two goals, assist); Ryan Livesay, Collin Scott (two goals); Henry Putnam (two assists)

• Mt. Ararat: Jack Martin (two goals); Nick White, Landen Treworgy (goal); Conor Olson (13 saves)