> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Acton-Boxborough boys lacrosse hands Bishop Guertin loss (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/acton-boxborough-boys-lacrosse-hands-bishop-guertin-loss-video/
- Published: 2022-05-18T18:00:13.000Z
- Updated: 2022-05-18T18:00:13.000Z
- Description: NASHUA - There are things during a game that the Bishop Guertin High School boys lacrosse team has grown accustomed to happening. Acton-Boxborough (Mass.) didn't allow those things to happen. AB had the upper hand on faceoffs, controlled possession and kept the Cardinals from putting together any ki
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Acton-Boxborough, Bishop Guertin, boys lacrosse, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

NASHUA - There are things during a game that the Bishop Guertin High School boys lacrosse team has grown accustomed to happening.

Acton-Boxborough (Mass.) didn't allow those things to happen.

AB had the upper hand on faceoffs, controlled possession and kept the Cardinals from putting together any kind of run, and all that added up to a 12-10 win for AB on Tuesday at Stellos Stadium.

Ryan Cho led the way with four goals and an assist while Tyler Clayton had three goals and three assists and Nick Moore added two goals and two assists for AB (13-3).

"Guys played really hard. All over the field, everybody gave their best effort," AB coach Patrick Ammendolia said. "Bishop Guertin is an unbelievable team and we needed to have an unbelievable effort to beat them, and we did. Credit to the boys for getting it done."

AB also got a goal and two assists from Jonathan Byrne, a goal apiece from PJ Cronin and Camden Matthews while goalie Will Steinkrauss made 12 saves.

Bishop Guertin (13-2, No. 1 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) got three goals apiece from Aiden Laurendeau and Quinn Cepiel while Connor Bouvier had a goal and three assists. Tim Kiely and Connor Guibord added a goal and an assist and Brady Dumont also scored.

Zach Connerty finished with 12 saves, eight of which came in the first half, when the junior and his defense stepped up to keep the Cardinals in the game.

"Every groundball we missed that they made, led to like two- or three-minute possessions by them, which hurt us," Bishop Guertin coach Chris Cameron said. "At the beginning of the game, Zach was making a lot of saves, keeping us in it. We were backing up shots on the defensive end. We were fortunate to be in that game like it was."

The Cardinals led 2-0 in the first quarter, and could have had more, hitting the post four times in the opening frame.

But faceoffs started to become a problem as the half moved along. AB's Devin German finished the day winning 17 of 26 faceoffs against Bishop Guertin's JJ Murphy, but in the first half, he won 8 of 11 to continuously give AB possession.

"They score in bunches and I think our faceoff game helped that," Ammendolia said. "He was winning a fair amount in the first half and kind of stifled that. We’ve been working on our transition defense. We had to answer every time they scored. We knew they could score a bunch quickly."

AB tied the game at 2 before the end of the first quarter and the teams went back and forth throughout the second, despite AB dominating possession time.

"For the limited amount of possessions we had, our offense was very efficient," Cameron said. "When there’s not shot clock and you play a team that plays at a slower pace, they get to dictate that. If they’re behind, we could have dictated that and we didn’t."

Moore scored with 29 seconds left in the first half to give AB a 5-4 lead going into the break and he added another goal less than four minutes into the third to make it a two-goal game.

Bishop Guertin cut the lead in half thanks to its ride. Unable to find an open teammate on a clear, Steinkrauss ran the ball out himself, but a check from Dumont knocked the ball free near midfield and Dumont got it to Cepiel for an empty-net goal to make it 6-5.

Goals by Cho and Clayton 1:32 apart put AB up 8-5 but Laurendeau scored with 23.7 seconds left in the third quarter, and after Murphy won the faceoff to open the fourth, Laurendeau scored again to get the Cardinals within one.

But that would be as close as Bishop Guertin would get, as Cho scored back-to-back goals in 1:19 to make it 10-7 with 8:04 to play. Every time the Cardinals cut the lead, AB would answer.

"It’s never comfortable, especially against a team like this," Ammendolia said. "We’re just tactically telling them, watch out, if they shut off, we’re going to do this. Or if we get the ball, we’ve got to keep it in. Just those little details, because in the fog of war, you tend to forget sometimes. Just remind them of the simple things and the boys took care of it."

For the Cardinals, it was a reminder of what they need to do as the postseason gets closer.

"We didn’t play very well, but at the same point, they played very well and they made us not play well," Cameron said. "They were tougher than us. We’re used to winning 80 or 90 percent of the faceoff, and we’re spoiled by that. In the second half, JJ made some adjustments and went to a different approach.

"We’re a very good team, but we’re not great yet. We can’t just show up to play against a team like that and they exposed us. They were more athletic and they were tougher than us."