NORTHBOROUGH – The No.12 seed Algonquin Regional High School boys lacrosse team started the MIAA tournament strong on Monday afternoon, handily defeating the No.21 Bridgewater-Raynham Trojans by a score of 13-4, and securing their spot in the next round of competition.
Both teams came out ready to compete, and the scoring started quickly thereafter. Algonquin drew first blood with 10:52 remaining in the quarter, and Bridgewater-Raynham answered three minutes later. The scoring continued and Algonquin led 3-2 in the closing seconds of the first quarter.
However, the Titans didn’t take those seconds for granted. Algonquin sprinted downfield and flung the ball past the goalie to put the team up 4-2 with no time remaining on the clock. The play set the tone for the game; the Trojans ran with the Titans all afternoon, but were unable to stand tall in crucial moments.
The second quarter was also dominated by the Titans. Goalie Nate Gulachenski, who finished the night with 14 saves, fiercely protected the net, thwarting several Trojan attacks.
With 3:35 remaining in the quarter, Bridgewater-Raynham Goalie Shaun LaCivita ran behind his net and tried to sneak a pass over Algonquin attacker Jack Battles’ head. As LaCivita wound up to pass, Battles jumped and snagged the ball, quickly passing to teammate Luke Harwich who scored in the undefended net. The goal, which made the game 6-2, was particularly deflating for the Trojans, having just come off an impressive defensive stand of their own.
Algonquin held off Bridgewater-Raynham in the third before pulling away in the fourth quarter.
“Now we’re playing,” Algonquin Head Coach Matt Nofsinger said to his players after the team scored their tenth goal.
After the game, Nofsinger told the Community Advocate that he was excited his team was finally executing.
“I think that they cleaned up the stick skills, they did the basic things well – playing fast,” he said.
The Titans ended the game by scoring four unanswered goals, winning the game 13-4. While Hofsinger was pleased with the result, he saw room for improvement.
“I’m fine with the outcome – we played a lot of good minutes, but we also played undisciplined, a little sloppy for this time of year. At this time of the season, you want your boys to be really playing at their best, and at this point I don’t really feel like we played our best today,” he said. “I’m happy with the win, happy with the effort – they grinded out the win – but not good enough to beat Hingham, that’s for sure.”
Hofsinger pointed to several key contributors that led the team to victory.
Battles, the team’s senior captain, scored five goals and had three assists. Harwich had three goals and two assists, and Ben Yosca had three goals and one assist.
The Titans will face No.5 Hingham in the tournament’s round of 16 on Wednesday.
“We have to work on our stick skills, our shooting, and taking care of the ball,” Nofsinger said. “If we want to compete with Hingham, all starting positions need to play their best lacrosse for 48 minutes. No mistakes – if you make mistakes, Hingham will make you pay.”
