Ground ball dominance helps Titans get past Knights in boys lacrosse
Apr. 13—MIDDLETOWN — After Tuscarora boys lacrosse finishes warming up for practice, it launches into the same drill every day.
The offensive and defensive players are separated, and it turns into a three-on-three battle inside the girls lacrosse draw circle at midfield. Whoever is able to pick up the ground ball and complete a pass wins a point for their side.
It's a drill Titans coach Curtiss Belcher was inspired to add after seeing his team struggle to consistently win ground ball battles in past years. He lifted it from the St. Mary's College of Maryland team, and it has paid dividends.
"If you ask the boys, that's what's made us better at ground balls this year," Belcher said.
It's also led directly to wins like Thursday's 10-8 triumph over host Middletown, one in which Tuscarora recovered from an early five-goal hole to hold the Knights scoreless for 30 minutes and play some of its best defensive lacrosse of the season.
The Titans (5-1) fielded 26 ground balls, not quite a season high but enough to muck up the middle for the final three quarters. They forced a spate of bad passes and permitted few sustained offensive attacks by the Knights, who fell apart after a promising start.
"6-v-6 those last 36 minutes was outstanding defensive lacrosse," Belcher said.
Most of that was scoreless for Middletown as Tuscarora chipped away to turn a 5-0 first-quarter deficit into a 7-5 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Knights managed three goals with a more urgent final frame, but the first two came a man up, and the Titans ultimately surrendered just one full-strength tally in the last 41 minutes.
Tuscarora adjusted to counter Middletown's two-man game, which led to that early scoring barrage.
"We started calling out the picks, and then they were spreading out," senior defender Nigel Domingo said. "Our back side was starting to come in, and we started sliding, would come in and double the guy, switch off, and that gave us the answer."
The Knights (1-7) struggled to respond, rarely getting their offense set and turning the ball over on possession after possession. When they were able to get shots off, they were from medium-to-long range, making it easy for Titans goalies Nate Fox and Aden Carey to swallow them up.
Middletown is now on a seven-game losing streak, uncharacteristic for one of the county's typical powers. It's learning to jell as the season progresses, but that hasn't quite translated to victories.
Many games have gone like Thursday's: stretches of great lacrosse followed by stretches of poor play.
"We got a little lackadaisical, and we struggled," Knights coach JM Sienkowski said. "We overcame it toward the end of the third quarter and in the fourth quarter, but one bad quarter in lacrosse can cost you a game really quickly."
That let Tuscarora respond offensively, slowly coming back to tie the contest just before halftime and pulling ahead early in the third quarter. After Middletown briefly knotted the contest again in the fourth, the Titans netted three of the final four goals to put the Knights away.
Koen Burdette led Tuscarora with four goals and nine ground balls, while Peyton Clouser had a hat trick, including the game-winner. Dylan Cruz also scored twice and picked up five ground balls, and Tyler Matthias-Magri chipped in a goal of his own.
Ryan McLister had four goals and an assist to pace Middletown. Myles Sontz scored twice, while Griffin Sheridan and Ryan Adolphi each added a goal. Gavin Vierling made 12 saves.
But it was a night that ultimately belonged to the Titans, who saw their daily ground ball drills pay off in game action. They'll get back out to the practice field Friday and do the same, carrying forward the confidence of shutting down another strong opponent.
"We were playing tired, but we threw that out the window, started to lock in a bit," Burdette said of the final three quarters. "We started playing with a chip on our shoulder after losing to them by one [last year]. Didn't want that to happen again."
