Alvirne boys lacrosse comes back to get win over Nashua North (video)

NASHUA - The Alvirne High School boys lacrosse team needed to be a little more patient on offense.

When it came down to crunch time, the Broncos were able to take their time and execute.

With Wednesday's game against Nashua North tied in the final minutes, Alvirne worked the ball around on offense for more than two minutes before Jared Graham got an open shot. The junior was on the mark and the Broncos held off the Titans' final chance for a 12-11 win at Stellos Stadium.

Graham finished with nine goals to lead Alvirne (1-3) while Calvin Durham, Eric Allard and Cole Bucknam added a goal each. Broncos goalie Bradley Morse made a handful of big saves down the stretch, including one on North's final shot with about 10 seconds left on the clock.

"We’re a young team, so for us to bounce back and being as resilient as we were, I think that is a testament to these guys," Alvirne coach Jason Downey said. "I have a lot of sophomores and some freshmen.

"We’ve been working on it and they were finally able to slow it down. We’ve been talking about trying to get the ball around. I think because we are young, we were forcing stuff and a little impatient. Near the end, they saw it and seeing how it ended up playing out for us might makes us be more patient and not try to rush it."

North (0-5) got three goals apiece from Jack Peters and Trent Giolowski while Alec Jenkerson and Robert Cannaway had two goals each. Spencer Dunn also scored and Ty Washam had two assists.

The Titans led for most of the first half until Graham scored back-to-back goals for Alvirne in a span of 1:36, tying the game 6-6 with 5:38 remaining in the half. North took a timeout and Peters put the Titans back on top moments later, then added a manup goal with 2:04 left until halftime.

Dunn added a goal early in the second half for North to make it a 9-6 lead for the Titans.

"We had to slow the game down, get some cuts going," Graham said of what adjustments the Broncos had to make. "Look for the cuts and look on the crease, and take nice and easy shots."

The teams traded manup goals to keep it a three-goal North lead, but Allard got it back down to two with his goal with 4:17 remaining in the third. With time winding down in the quarter, Graham scored a diving goal from the side of the cage, getting Alvirne within one with 7.7 seconds to go.

"As a freshman two years ago, he was our leading scorer," Downey said of Graham. "He kind of struggled in the first game, but he’s starting to find his rhythm. We’re finally starting to shake off the rust."

Durham tied the game with 7:42 left and Graham scored a manup goal - Alvirne went 3 for 3 on the advantage in the second half - to give the Broncos an 11-10 lead with 5:18 remaining.

Jenkerson answered for the Titans, tying the game with 4:29 to play, and North controlled the ensuing faceoff.

But North turned the ball over and Alvirne took its time on offense. The Broncos missed on a couple of shot attempts, but got the ball back, and with 1:12 to play, Graham found the back of the net.

"Looking for an opportunity to take a nice, hard shot," he said. "We had to slow the game down. It was pretty hard to calm down and bring it together. I saw my middie, Eric (Allard), take a step down and draw their guys. I just popped up and was hoping that he’d pass it and he did, so I shot it."

North won the faceoff again, turned it over again, but this time, Cannaway intercepted a clearing attempt and the Titans worked for the final shot. Jenkerson put the ball on goal but Morse made the save.

"I told them, it’s one goal at a time," Downey said. "There’s no 3-pointers. We’ve just got to get it one goal at a time. I’m happy with the momentum going into the rest of the season."

The teams will meet again at 4 p.m. Friday at Alvirne.