Red Storm ‘live and die by the sword’ in three game streak
By Stephen Ham
Special to the Leader
“Live by the sword, die by the sword.”
The Red Storm Lacrosse Team found out this old adage has its lacrosse equivalent in; “win by the big quarter, and lose without it.”
In two of its three games this past week, this proved to be the case.
In the first, The Red Storm took on a motivated Deering Ram team in Portland. Scarborough looked flat for much of the first half, while the Rams were patient on offense, waiting for opportunities to shoot. The Storm found themselves down 2-0 in the first quarter, before Ryan Hunt connected on a wrist shot off a Kevin Daley pass to get on the scoreboard.
Scarborough seemingly found its rhythm after that, moving to a 4-2 lead on two Chris Kipp scores with 3:52 left in the half, and then old problems resurfaced. The Red Storm defense, which struggled in the first half, took 3 penalties in succession, and the Rams took full advantage, scoring on all three man-up chances to go to the half with a 5-4 advantage.
And then it happened; the big quarter.
Scarborough opened the second half with a booming shot by Jake Barrett, assisted by Kip, to tie the score. Then just as suddenly, the Scarborough defense absolutely shut down the Deering offense that had tormented them in the first half. A crushing body check by Mark Strait, followed by a stick check by James Wright, and then ground balls picked up by Darren Smith and Jimmy Soules all led to transition opportunities.
At the same time, the Red Storm offense shifted into high gear. Successive possessions saw goals by Danny Clark, Kevin Daly, Ryan Hunt, Barrett, Brendan Ham, and Kipp to finish a seven goal quarter. The once impenetrable Ram defense was now defenseless itself.
With the score 11-4, the Red Storm were in control and cruised to a 12-6 victory.
Scarborough Coach Joe Hezlep commenting after the game said, “Deering came out fired up, hitting hard, and they were moving the ball well. There aren’t too many teams in the state that can do both of those things well. And we didn’t respond well early.”
As to his team’s dual personality, he said, “I told them at the half they needed to look at each other and decide if they really wanted to play. They held a team meeting without me there, and it seemed to work.”
Looking to the future, Hezlep added, “We’ve got to take better care of the ball on offense and get the defense some rest. We’re really taxing them now.”
Next up, The Storm played a hot Cheverus team on a cool Friday night at Scarborough, and this time there was a far different outcome.
Scarborough controlled play much of the evening, always seeming ready to put on the type of spurt they used at Deering to pull ahead. But it never happened.
Cheverus used its opportunities wisely, and despite being outshot, used great passing in transition, and took advantage of Scarborough penalties to overcome a two-goal Scarborough lead. And Cheverus goalie Justin Sheehan was just phenomenal, absolutely denying shots that are routinely scores.
In what has become a bad habit, the Red Storm lost focus at the end of the half with the game tied at four, this time allowing a Stag goal with just 1.4 seconds remaining in the half, giving Cheverus a 5-4 lead they would not relinquish.
It was the Stags that controlled the third quarter, scoring twice to run their lead to 7-4. Scarborough finally put a push on in the fourth, and the crowd held its collective breath to see if they would complete a thrilling comeback.
With goals from Jake Barrett and Danny Clark, the Storm closed the score to 8-6, before Ryan Hunt scored on a beautiful play with 1:11 left. Hunt turned his defender inside, then spun back before using his right hand to fire a shot into the goal to bring Scarborough within one, at 8-7. But that was as close as they got before time ran out.
Hezlep said, “Cheverus played great. They played real hard and (goalie) Sheehan played a great game. We had some great looks but we didn’t finish. Their long sticks are big, they got out and pressured, and we’ve got to handle that better.”
In the other game of the week, Scarborough defeated Freeport 14-4, running their record to 5-2. Their next game will be at Falmouth, Friday, May 30, at 4 p.m.
Special to the Leader
“Live by the sword, die by the sword.”
The Red Storm Lacrosse Team found out this old adage has its lacrosse equivalent in; “win by the big quarter, and lose without it.”
In two of its three games this past week, this proved to be the case.
In the first, The Red Storm took on a motivated Deering Ram team in Portland. Scarborough looked flat for much of the first half, while the Rams were patient on offense, waiting for opportunities to shoot. The Storm found themselves down 2-0 in the first quarter, before Ryan Hunt connected on a wrist shot off a Kevin Daley pass to get on the scoreboard.
Scarborough seemingly found its rhythm after that, moving to a 4-2 lead on two Chris Kipp scores with 3:52 left in the half, and then old problems resurfaced. The Red Storm defense, which struggled in the first half, took 3 penalties in succession, and the Rams took full advantage, scoring on all three man-up chances to go to the half with a 5-4 advantage.
And then it happened; the big quarter.
Scarborough opened the second half with a booming shot by Jake Barrett, assisted by Kip, to tie the score. Then just as suddenly, the Scarborough defense absolutely shut down the Deering offense that had tormented them in the first half. A crushing body check by Mark Strait, followed by a stick check by James Wright, and then ground balls picked up by Darren Smith and Jimmy Soules all led to transition opportunities.
At the same time, the Red Storm offense shifted into high gear. Successive possessions saw goals by Danny Clark, Kevin Daly, Ryan Hunt, Barrett, Brendan Ham, and Kipp to finish a seven goal quarter. The once impenetrable Ram defense was now defenseless itself.
With the score 11-4, the Red Storm were in control and cruised to a 12-6 victory.
Scarborough Coach Joe Hezlep commenting after the game said, “Deering came out fired up, hitting hard, and they were moving the ball well. There aren’t too many teams in the state that can do both of those things well. And we didn’t respond well early.”
As to his team’s dual personality, he said, “I told them at the half they needed to look at each other and decide if they really wanted to play. They held a team meeting without me there, and it seemed to work.”
Looking to the future, Hezlep added, “We’ve got to take better care of the ball on offense and get the defense some rest. We’re really taxing them now.”
Next up, The Storm played a hot Cheverus team on a cool Friday night at Scarborough, and this time there was a far different outcome.
Scarborough controlled play much of the evening, always seeming ready to put on the type of spurt they used at Deering to pull ahead. But it never happened.
Cheverus used its opportunities wisely, and despite being outshot, used great passing in transition, and took advantage of Scarborough penalties to overcome a two-goal Scarborough lead. And Cheverus goalie Justin Sheehan was just phenomenal, absolutely denying shots that are routinely scores.
In what has become a bad habit, the Red Storm lost focus at the end of the half with the game tied at four, this time allowing a Stag goal with just 1.4 seconds remaining in the half, giving Cheverus a 5-4 lead they would not relinquish.
It was the Stags that controlled the third quarter, scoring twice to run their lead to 7-4. Scarborough finally put a push on in the fourth, and the crowd held its collective breath to see if they would complete a thrilling comeback.
With goals from Jake Barrett and Danny Clark, the Storm closed the score to 8-6, before Ryan Hunt scored on a beautiful play with 1:11 left. Hunt turned his defender inside, then spun back before using his right hand to fire a shot into the goal to bring Scarborough within one, at 8-7. But that was as close as they got before time ran out.
Hezlep said, “Cheverus played great. They played real hard and (goalie) Sheehan played a great game. We had some great looks but we didn’t finish. Their long sticks are big, they got out and pressured, and we’ve got to handle that better.”
In the other game of the week, Scarborough defeated Freeport 14-4, running their record to 5-2. Their next game will be at Falmouth, Friday, May 30, at 4 p.m.
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