Over the last dozen years or more, the biggest tests for New Hampshire high school boys’ Class L and Division I lacrosse teams have come in games against Bishop Guertin and Pinkerton Academy. And that continues to be true here in 2018.
The previously-undefeated Londonderry High Lancers suffered their first loss of the season – to the opponent against whom they most hate to lose – on Tuesday, April 17 when they traveled the short distance over to Derry to face off against the host Pinkerton Academy squad.
The hosts won every quarter except the third, which was scoreless.
Pinkerton managed a 5-2 lead after one quarter, and after outscoring their guests by that same margin in the second period the Astros had a 10-4 advantage stepping into halftime.
The score didn’t change during the tightly-played third period, but coach Brian O’Reilly saw his now 3-0 PA charges put the matter of who might win to rest by outscoring the Lancers by a 3-2 tally in quarter four.
The host team received four goals and one assist from Ryan Auger, a goal and four helpers from Hunter Drouin, two goals and one assist from Shawn Tewksbury, a goal and two assists each from Gennaro Marra and Owen McCormack, two goals from Chad Teresky, and a goal and a helper from Mason Drouin. Pinkerton goalie Alex Sturgess contributed six saves to the success.
Now 2-1 Londonderry received two goals each from Jeff Wiedenfield and Jake Holland and one each from Anthony Federico and Nate Andrews.
Londonderry’s first-year varsity coach Roger Sampson felt that the turning point of the match came in period two when his Lancers suffered four big turnovers which led to four PA goals.
“Losing face-offs and turnovers kept us from generating offense,” lamented the LHS coach. “Those really hurt us.”
Patrick Murphy, like Federico and Andrews an LHS ice hockey standout during the winter season, made 11 saves in continuing on as the Lancers’ starting goalie in place of the squad’s regular goal-tending duo.
With Londonderry’s two regular keepers – Josh Harmon and Ross Carroll – suffering from a broken thumb and concussion symptoms respectively, Sampson expects to have volunteer goalie Murphy protecting his squad’s net for the time-being at least.
The Lancers looked to get back on the winning path Monday, April 23 when they traveled to Windham High.
And the locals handed an 18-9 walloping to Windham that afternoon, making the Londonderry High crew’s 2018 record 3-1.