Quick start propels Bishop Guertin past Pinkerton, 16-4
May 20—DERRY — The Bishop Guertin boys lacrosse team played angry in its 16-4 NHIAA Division I victory over Pinkerton Academy on Thursday at Memorial Field.
Coming off their 12-10 loss to Acton-Boxborough (Mass.) on Tuesday, the Cardinals came out firing to take an early lead they never relinquished against their longtime rival and fellow Division I power.
The Astros (9-6) and defending champion BG (14-2) have met in seven of the past eight Division I title games.
The Cardinals, who are unbeaten against NHIAA competition, led 8-2 after the first quarter and 11-3 at halftime.
"I challenged them (the players) to come out and no matter what, Pinkerton is going to get our best shot all the time," Bishop Guertin coach Chris Cameron said.
Bishop Guertin senior JJ Murphy won each of the game's first five faceoffs and the Cardinals found the back of the net on their first eight shots on goal to build the six-goal lead they took into the second quarter.
Murphy and Mitchell Lynch combined to win 16 faceoffs.
Cole Frank, Pinkerton's sophomore standout faceoff specialist, won three faceoffs in the first half and five overall. Astros coach Steve Gaudreau estimated Frank came into Thursday's game with about a 90% faceoff win percentage.
Pinkerton tied the score at 1-1 on a goal from senior Riley Spellman at the 1:11 mark before the Cardinals ended the frame on a 7-1 run. Astros junior goalkeeper Tyler LeBlanc relieved classmate Curtis Michaud after BG took a 6-2 lead on a Connor Bouvier goal that came with 3:07 left in the first quarter.
"They made plays early," Gaudreau said of the Cardinals. "They took control in that first quarter and we didn't make the plays that we needed to. ... We certainly lost momentum and then just couldn't get it back."
Gaudreau switched to a zone defense after the opening quarter that forced the Cardinals to adjust from their traditional fast-paced style.
"I told our guys, 'If they choose to sit in the zone, just be patient,'" Cameron said. "Their zone definitely slowed us down — I give them credit but the time and score was in our favor."
Brady Dumont recorded three goals and an assist while Kiely, Bouvier and Aiden Laurendeau each added two goals for BG. Bouvier also logged four assists. Zach Connerty and Will Murphy made a combined four saves for the Cardinals.
Spellman scored twice before leaving with an injury in the first half. Michael Uber and Liam Prescott each had a goal and LeBlanc made eight saves for the Astros.
"We were able to slow them (BG) down in those middle quarters but when you start the game off like that, it's tough to recover," Gaudreau said.
