Bishop Guertin boys lacrosse hangs on to beat Bedford (video)

NASHUA - For the first 12 minutes Thursday at Stellos Stadium, the Bishop Guertin High School boys lacrosse team played the best it had all season.

But then, the Cardinals weren't, and by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, things got interesting.

After falling behind 5-0 in that first quarter, Bedford had climbed back to within two goals early in the fourth before Bishop Guertin scored four straight goals to put away an 11-6 win over the Bulldogs.

Nick Prunier scored three goals, including two in a 50-second span late in the fourth quarter, and Charlie O'Brien also had three while Tim Hinrichs added two scores to help the Cardinals improve to 12-1 in Division I.

"When we went up 5-0, it was the best we've played all year," Bishop Guertin coach Chris Cameron said. "We did everything we were supposed to do at a very high level, and then I don't know what happened. Give Bedford credit, they took us out of our game and we made a lot of mental mistakes."

The Bulldogs (10-2) got 21 saves from goalie Sean Tierney, while Dakota Clark had three goals and Colby Gendron added two.

"It's the greatest game I've seen him play," Bedford coach Matt Guerard said. "You can't spot a great team five goals and then expect to grind your way back. It's a big hole way too fast."

Bedford nearly did climb out of that hole, which Bishop Guertin begin building slowly in the first quarter. The Cardinals kept possession for long stretches, and when the Bulldogs did get the ball, they didn't have it long.

"Offensively, we made too many unforced errors," Guerard said. "It wasn't them stripping the ball, it wasn't them making great checks, we just threw it away. For us, that's uncharacteristic, but it's a prime time game. You've got to limit those mistakes and we didn't."

Goals by Garret Bozek, Jordan Caito and Michael Barrett gave Bishop Guertin a 3-0 lead with 6:30 left in the first quarter, and goals by Hinrichs and O'Brien just 27 seconds apart put the Cardinals up 5-0 with 3:21 to go in the opening frame.

But Bedford's defense - and some sloppy play by Bishop Guertin - kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard for more than 13 minutes. The Bulldogs were able to get two goals back and trailed 6-2 at halftime.

"Early on, we had good shots," Cameron said. "Bedford played hard and tough, but they didn't play their greatest. They turned the ball over and then we played at that level. For good portions, it was a sloppy game."

The teams traded goals early in the third quarter and then the goalies took over, as Tierney and Bishop Guertin's Colin Casey (eight saves) made some big stops to keep it a 7-3 Cardinals' lead.

With 1.1 seconds left in the third, Bishop Guertin took a penalty and Bedford capitalized, getting a man-up goal from Clark just 19 seconds into the fourth. On the ensuing faceoff, the Cardinals were flagged again, and the Bulldogs took advantage again, as Gendron scored to make it 7-5 with 11:15 left in the game.

"I said at the start of the fourth quarter, we're not looking for style points, we're looking to get this win, so play smart," Cameron said. "And all of a sudden 7-3 turns into 7-5. You've got to give them credit. (Guerard's) teams aren't going to quit."

Hinrichs and O'Brien got the lead back to four, scoring 48 seconds apart to make it 9-5 with 9:39 to play. With Bedford's defense forced to come out, Bishop Guertin was able to take advantage of the space, as Prunier scored twice to wrapup the win.

"I told the guys, we needed to go on a couple-of-goal run to swing the momentum," Guerard said. "We had it and then they got the next one and it depletes you a little bit. We grinded all the way to the end of the game and that's what I'm proud of my guys for."

Both teams are back on the field Saturday, as Bishop Guertin hosts Cohasset (Mass.) at 11 a.m. at Rivier University, and Bedford hosts Souhegan at 5 p.m.