Second half scoring surge sends Danvers laxmen past Ipswich
May 4—DANVERS — Reaching that next level offensively has been the point of emphasis at the Danvers High boys lacrosse team's recent practices.
Based on what the Falcons did in the second quarter of Tuesday's home game with Ipswich, they appear to be assimilating what head coach Wes Chittick and his assistants are teaching them.
Trailing by a pair of goals, the Blue-and-White saw five different players combine for seven straight tallies, then held off a late comeback attempt by the Tigers for a 9-8 victory at Morse Field.
"We're not necessarily looking to score on the first dodge, but rather dodge it, move it, then re-dodge on the back side," said Chittick. "We're trying to be a little more advanced offensively, and I thought we did a really good job of that there."
After Becket Devoe scored four minutes into the second period to give Ipswich a 3-1 lead, the Falcons got their offense untracked. Sophomore Jake Ryan got his team back on the scoreboard before freshman Brady Tersolo tied it up 45 seconds later. Jack Murphy gave the home team a lead it would never relinquish a minute later, and Colby Dunham's man up tally increased his squad's lead to two goals.
But the Falcons (now 6-3) weren't done. Jimmy Thibodeau buried a Dunham pass with 2:37 left in the quarter to make it 6-3, and Tersolo's second with 56 seconds left bumped the lead up yet again. Dunham then rocketed a shot home just as the halftime buzzer sounded, making it 8-3 Danvers.
"It's the next level we're trying to get to offensively, and slowly but surely we're coming along," said Chittick. "That second quarter was really promising, because I think everyone is aware of what we can be; now it's finding the consistency to do it for four quarters."
Playing for the second time in two days, Ipswich (now 4-5) and its relatively thin lineup (18 players) was clearly exhausted at times, particularly late in the second quarter when the Falcons went on their scoring run.
The Tigers didn't help themselves by committing a multitude of unforced errors, forcing passes in the offensive end, and not always using the wisest shot selection.
"Instead of making those two more passes you need to make, it's forcing to the kid on the crease who's not quite open yet. That's part of the problem," said head coach Glenn Foster.
The Tiger veteran went on to visually display passes that were rushed by his team. "A guy comes across the crease and he's open, but instead of getting it here," he said, simulating what would be a normal catch, "the ball is going here (over his head) or here (way off to the side). We get antsy, and I'm not sure if that's from inexperience or nervousness or what. But if you force things that aren't there ... the end result isn't going to work out the way you want."
At other instances, Ipswich got good looks at Danvers freshman Brayden Holt (11 saves), but put the ball in one of his strong spots: low stick side. "We had three shots in a row right to that very spot," said Foster.
Dunham, who won nine of 12 first half facecoffs, led the scoring charge for Danvers with three goals and two assists; he leads his club in goals (19), assists (13), and points (32). Tersolo had a pair of goals while Thibodeau, Ryan and Murphy all had a goal and an assist. Jacob Rotker also found the back of the Tigers' net. Long stick middie Jaxon Vogel was also a bright spot for the winners.
Ipswich — which scored the only three goals of the fourth quarter in an attempt to erase a four-goal deficit, including Aiden Arnold's second of the afternoon with just four seconds to play, also got two tallies and three assists from junior captain Henry Wright, two goals and two helpers from sophomore Will Harrington, and two snipes from Devoe. Junior netminder Ryan Orroth kept things from getting out of hand in the second and third quarters particularly, finishing with 13 stops.
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN
