After dropping its two regular season matches against the rival Pinkerton Academy Astros by double-digit margins, the Londonderry High boys’ lacrosse squad had its 2014 campaign ended by that Derry opponent in meeting number three of the local contingents.
Coach Joe McCune’s seventh-seeded Lancers showed considerable fight in the quarterfinal-round tourney contest played at Pinkerton on Thursday, June 5, but the academy crew won each quarter en route to the 13-6 victory that shoved it into a semifinal-round tournament match with Hanover last weekend.
Veteran coach Brian O’Reilly’s second-ranked Astros held a slim, 2-1 lead after one period, a 7-2 advantage at halftime, and a 10-4 lead rolling into the last stanza of play.
Londonderry goalie Erik Kenison made 15 stops in his net in attempting to help his Lancers snag the upset victory over PA.
Andrew Mitchell, Eric Coburn, Brendan Wall, Sean Snyder, Sam Hastings, and David Wiedenfeld each netted single tallies for the Lancers, and Nick Yennaco contributed three assists to the cause.
The Londonderry squad’s intensity and level of fight shows in the fact that it lost to Pinkerton by the relatively small margin of seven goals after dropping regular season losses of 17-6 and 18-5 to the rival.
The team closed out their regular season by winning two of their last three matches to post a 10-7 record and snare the seventh tournament slot. Pinkerton came into the post-season with a 15-3 record and an eight-game winning streak rolling.