Falmouth’s boys’ lacrosse team celebrates one of its 14 goals in Wednesday’s 14-9 win over Scarborough.

BOX SCORE

Falmouth 14 Scarborough 9

S- 1 2 0 6- 9
F- 5 3 6 0- 14

First quarter
9:32 S Kavanagh (unassisted)
6:48 F Fitzgerald (Tucker)
5:51 F Fitzgerald (Tucker)
5:24 F St. Louis (unassisted)
4:00 F Fitzgerald (Tucker)
2:50 F St. Louis (unassisted)

Second quarter
11:15 S Leadley (Joyce)
10:18 S Taggart (Pedersen) (MAN-UP)
9:23 F Alexander (unassisted)
7:33 F Kaplan (unassisted)
4:10 F Derhak (Fitzgerald)

Third quarter
7:45 F Fitzgerald (unassisted)
7:08 F St. Louis (Kerr) (MAN-UP)
4:22 F Reed (unassisted) (MAN-DOWN)
3:27 F Fitzgerald (unassisted)
1:52 F Kerr (Alexander)
1:05 F Fitzgerald (St. Louis)

Fourth quarter
10:06 S Pedersen (unassisted)
9:17 S Joyce (unassisted)
6:40 S Nelson (Quintiliani)
5:13 S Quintiliani (unassisted)
1:42 S Kavanagh (Leadley)
10.5 S Quintiliani (Joyce)

Goals:
S- Kavanagh, Quintiliani 2, Joyce, Leadley, Nelson, Pedersen, Taggart 1
F- Fitzgerald 6, St. Louis 3, Alexander, Derhak, Kaplan, Kerr, Reed 1

Assists:
S- Joyce 2, Leadley, Pedersen, Quintiliani 1
F- Tucker 3, Alexander, Fitzgerald, Kerr, St. Louis 1 

Faceoffs (Falmouth, 16-11)
S- Quartararo 10 of 19, Stratis 1 of 8
F- Allen 14 of 23, Kaplan 2 of 3, St. Louis 0 of 1

Groundballs:
S- 30
F- 32

Turnovers:
S- 14
F- 17

Shots:
S- 30
F- 34

Shots on cage:
S- 16
F- 21

Saves:
S (Brown) 7
F (Noyes) 3 (Crowder) 4

FALMOUTH—Falmouth’s boys’ lacrosse team needed a few minutes to kick its offense into gear Wednesday night at home, but once the Yachtsmen started tickling the twine, visiting Scarborough simply had no answers.

In an early-season showdown of two of the state’s top programs, Falmouth fell behind 1-0 and needed over five minutes to score, but the Yachtsmen would get five goals in four minutes, three from junior Tommy Fitzgerald, to open up a 5-1 lead after one period.

The Red Storm crept back within two behind goals from junior Alden Leadley and senior Nathan Taggart, but senior Peter Alexander, sophomore Satchel Kaplan and junior Zach Derhak answered for the hosts, making it 8-3 Falmouth at the half.

The Yachtsmen then completely put it away in the third quarter, thanks to a 6-0 run, highlighted by three more goals from Fitzgerald.

Scarborough enjoyed a 6-0 run of its own in the fourth period, but Falmouth had enough of a cushion to go on to a comfortable 14-9 victory.

Fitzgerald led the way with six goals, as the Yachtsmen improved to 3-0 on the season and dropped the Red Storm to 0-2 in the process.

“We played really well tonight,” said Falmouth coach Dave Barton. “The guys are starting to see that every time we come out, we get a little bit better.”

On the rise

Scarborough is vastly improved from last year’s 3-9 squad which missed the playoffs for the first time since 2000, giving Cape Elizabeth all it could handle in the season opener last Thursday before falling, 7-6, in overtime.

Falmouth (which lost to Thornton Academy in last year’s Class A state final), meanwhile, opened with a 9-3 win at Kennebunk, then overcame a slow start Monday to handle visiting Gorham, 16-7. 

Entering play Wednesday, the Yachtsmen had won nine of 14 all-time meetings, including six in a row (see sidebar, below), including both last spring, 14-4 in Scarborough and 16-8 at home.

The Red Storm were seeking their first victory over Falmouth in almost exactly a decade (7-5, at Falmouth, April 28, 2009), but the Yachtsmen proved to be too much.

Scarborough broke the ice with 9:32 to go in the first quarter, as junior Ethan Kavanagh beat Falmouth sophomore goalie A.J. Noyes and scored unassisted, but that’s as good as it would get for the Red Storm.

With 6:48 left in the frame, Fitzgerald finally got the Yachtsmen going, as he finished a feed from senior captain Reilly Tucker, beating Scarborough junior goalie Austin Brown.

The tandem hooked up again with 5:51 to go in the quarter and Falmouth was ahead to stay.

Twenty-seven seconds later, senior Iyendae St. Louis scored unassisted and the onslaught continued, as Fitzgerald (from Tucker) scored with 4 minutes on the clock and St. Louis added an unassisted tally with 2:50 left to give the Yachtsmen a commanding 5-1 advantage after 12 minutes.

“We made a point to bury them early,” said Fitzgerald. “We just played complementary offense today and we just had fun out there. No one can stop us when we move the ball fast. We got going and it carried through the whole game.”

The Red Storm got back in it early in the second period, as sophomore Aidan Joyce set up Leadley 45 seconds in and playing man-up, Taggart scored from freshman Finn Pedersen with 10:18 to go in the half to cut the deficit to 5-3.

But the next nine goals would go to Falmouth, three of which came before the half.

With 9:23 on the clock, Alexander pounced on a rebound and finished.

With 7:33 to go, Kaplan scored an unassisted goal.

With 4:10 remaining, Fitzgerald set up Derhak for a goal and the Yachtsmen took an 8-3 lead to the break.

In the first half, Yachtsmen junior Shane Allen won eight of 13 faceoffs and the hosts enjoyed a 22-11 edge in shots.

Falmouth then pulled away in the third quarter.

With 7:45 remaining, Fitzgerald scored unassisted.

Then, 37 seconds later, playing man-up, sophomore Wyatt Kerr fed St. Louis for a goal and a 10-3 lead.

With 4:22 to go, senior captain and defensive standout Riley Reed, got the ball on his long stick and raced in and scored unassisted.

With 3:27 left, Fitzgerald scored unassisted to make it 12-3.

With 1:52 showing, Alexander set up Kerr for a goal and 47 seconds later, Fitzgerald scored for the final time, off a feed from St. Louis, and the Yachtsmen took a 14-3 advantage to the final stanza.

There, Scarborough finished strong, but it was too little, too late.

With 10:06 on the clock, Pedersen scored unassisted.

Joyce added an unassisted goal with 9:17 to play.

With 6:40 left, it would be senior Jared Quintiliani setting up senior Jared Nelson.

With 5:13 to go, Quintiliani finished himself, unassisted.

With 1:42 remaining, Leadley set up Kavanagh for his second goal and with 10.5 seconds showing, Quintiliani (from Joyce) tickled the twine to account for the 14-9 final score.

Fitzgerald set the tone with six goals and an assist.

“Outside of being a great leader, Tommy’s a student of the game,” said Barton. “He watches a lot of film. His stick is an extension of his body. He always plays with his head up. The best thing about Tommy is he’ll make the pass and he’s definitely not gun-shy.” 

St. Louis scored three times and had an assist. Alexander, Derhak, Kaplan, Kerr and Reed each added one goal.

Tucker had three assists, while Alexander and Kerr both added one.

Noyes made three saves, while junior Jack Crowder came on late and made four saves.

Thanks in large part to Allen’s work, the Yachtsmen won 16 of 27 faceoffs.

“Shane was great,” said Fitzgerald. “He’s grown so much since the end of March. He just creates offense for us. He and Riley Reed and (sophomore) Sam Gearen are quite the trio. They get us the ball and we can’t thank them enough.”

Allen also had a team-high seven ground balls, helping Falmouth hold a 32-30 advantage.

The Yachtsmen had a 34-30 edge in shots (21-16 on cage) and overcame 17 turnovers.

Scarborough got two goals apiece from Kavanagh and Quintiliani and one each from Joyce, Leadley, Nelson, Pedersen and Taggart.

Joyce had two assists, while Leadley, Pedersen and Quintiliani each finished with one.

Brown made seven saves.

Joyce had a team-high five ground balls.

The Red Storm committed 14 turnovers.

“We fought hard to the end, but they’re a great team,” Scarborough coach Zach Barrett said. “They’re much better than I expected with what they lost last year and I think that was a shock to our guys. I talked to the guys how important it is to remember your opponent is good. Because we played well against Cape doesn’t mean we’ll roll that way the rest of the year.

“We struggled to get the ball. We played a lot of defense and when you play that much defense, you’ll make mistakes. Once you fall behind, it’s hard to climb back in.”

Falmouth was impressed by Scarborough’s 48-minute fight.

“Knowing those guys over there, we weren’t surprised by their Cape result,” Barton said. “They’ll win some games this year. They can handle the ball and they’re selfless on offense.”

Home at last

Scarborough plays its first home game on campus Friday when Sanford pays a visit. After going to Cheverus for a makeup game Saturday, the Red Storm host Falmouth Monday.

“Our next game is Sanford and that’s what we’ll focus on,” Barrett said. “We’ll go out and do our best, then move forward from there. We have some things to ponder before we see (Falmouth) again. Hopefully we’ll learn from this experience and move forward.”

Falmouth’s next game is at Scarborough Monday, then the Yachtsmen play host to Cheverus next Wednesday and two days later, have their only regularly scheduled showdown at rival Cape Elizabeth.

“I think we’re growing each and every day and if we do, we’ll end up playing late in June,” said Fitzgerald. “We just have to be persistent, come to practice and compete and don’t take anything for granted. We just have to put in the hard work.”

“The thing about this group is they get better every single practice and game,” Barton said. “It’s cool to see where we were a month ago and where we are now. We haven’t even scratched the surface.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

Recent Falmouth-Scarborough results

2018
Falmouth 14 @ Scarborough 4
@ Falmouth 16 Scarborough 8

2015
Falmouth 11 @ Scarborough 10

2014
@ Falmouth 15 Scarborough 11

2011
Falmouth 13 @ Scarborough 3

2010
@ Falmouth 4 Scarborough 3

2009
Scarborough 7 @ Falmouth 5

2008
@ Scarborough 11 Falmouth 5
Scarborough 14 @ Falmouth 6

2007
Scarborough 10 @ Falmouth 4

2006
@ Scarborough 8 Falmouth 7

2004
@ Falmouth 11 Scarborough 7

2003
Falmouth 15 @ Scarborough 5

2002
Falmouth 7 @ Scarborough 6