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Berwick Opens With Win Over Gov's
4/11/2018
Berwick 6 – Governor’s 0
The Berwick Academy Junior Vahsity Boys’ Lacrosse squad broke the seal on the 2018 season with a solid 6-0 victory over the neighbors from the Governor’s Academy Wednesday afternoon. The standing-room-only opening day crowd was treated to solid performances in all phases of the game from the Bulldogs and left the turf feeling cheerfully optimistic about the promise of the new season.
The quality of play from both squads was unusually strong for an early April JV game, and the fact that the first period was scoreless was more a product of good defensive work than it was the result of mistake-filled action. It wasn’t until the 6:24 mark of the second stanza that Berwick got on the scoreboard. Ross Spearman gathered in a beautiful long pass from defenseman Cooper Del Sesto and zinged one between the keeper and the post to open his account for the year. After Berwick won the ensuing faceoff and carried into the restraining box, freshman Chase Ehlen fired a shot that was partially deflected. A Gov’s defender grabbed the rebound and immediately launched a clearing pass. Ehlen alertly picked off the pass and shot again, this time beating the surprised keeper easily for Berwick’s second tally.
The 2-0 halftime score seemed about right, but the Berwick boys were determined to do more damage. Newly recruited from the baseball squad, Tyler “The Athletic Weapon” Gaulin was the beneficiary of more generosity from Del Sesto at 6:00 of the third as he beat the tendy high blocker with an overhand shot, while the darling of Darien, CT, Wesley Rennie, received a clever feed from Logan Ryan to push the lead out to four. In the fourth quarter the long-time attack crew of Spearman, Ryan Trotzky, and Matt Osgood lit the lamp twice, with Trotzky converting a pair of slick Spearman serves to close out the day’s offensive outburst.
Big time backstop Ben Slama was in mid-season form, with several strong saves, but none were bigger than his amazing parry of the head from one of the Governor’s player’s sticks. Slama’s effective directing of his defensive crew and his efficient clearing passes were key to Berwick’s win.
Liam Cannon, featuring Gavinesque flow, anchored the back three, while Jack Benjamin proved his worth as both an effective defender and an avid practitioner of “hot pizza” clearing runs. Freshman d’man Del Sesto was strong defensively in addition to his two assists.
The Will Boyd-Tyler Gaulin-Ryan Logan midfield line was solid at both ends of the field, freshmen Braeden Stevenson teamed up with classmates Ehlen and Rennie to form a sure handed line at both middie and attack, and Sam Gustafson, Conor Hoy, Nash Pritchard, and Wesley Wyatt proved to be both flexible and tenacious as they were asked to play all over the field.
Special mention is due Tianyu Zhou, who played well in the first lacrosse game he ever saw, digging in for ground balls, working to get open around the crease, and generally playing with passion and determination even as he continues to learn this game. If only his coaches would bother to explain the offsides rule…
Berwick (1-0-0) gets back in action again on Friday with a quick trip down I-95 to visit the Highlanders of the Pingree School.
Berwick Academy
31 Academy Street
South Berwick, Maine 03908
Contact:
Admission | 207.384.6300
Main Office | 207.384.2164
South Berwick, Maine 03908
Contact:
Admission | 207.384.6300
Main Office | 207.384.2164
Berwick Academy, situated on an 80-acre campus just over one hour north of Boston, serves 520 students, Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 and Postgraduates. Berwick students are from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and several countries. Deeply committed to its mission of promoting virtue and useful knowledge, Berwick Academy empowers students to be creative and bold. Berwick strives to graduate alumni who shape their own learning, take risks, ask thoughtful questions, and come to understand and celebrate their authentic selves.
