Concord boys lacrosse takes a step by finishing win over Merrimack

CONCORD - Concord High School boys lacrosse coach Jeff Smith described his team as young but also as one “starting to figure it out.”

The Crimson Tide figured out how to close out a win on Thursday at Memorial Field, defeating Merrimack 12-6.

The Tomahawks (1-5) pulled within two goals with 4:26 remaining in the third quarter, when Jordan Petrocelli found the back of the net. Concord (2-3) responded by scoring four unanswered goals over the remainder of the contest.

“To be able to close, it felt really good (to) keep them off and play good, solid D and just stay focused the whole entire game,” Concord attackman Brendan Pearl said.

Concord held the Tomahawks to three goals in each half and led the entire game. The Crimson Tide also won the groundball battle, 24-20.

Smith said his defense did a good job taking the lessons it learned from previous games and applying them on Thursday.

“The D, when they extend out and play pressure, they’re pretty solid,” Smith. “Their clears were a lot better today. That’s the big thing I would say the defense did better but much to work on.”

Concord led, 6-3, at halftime. Merrimack won six of eight faceoffs in the third quarter and chipped away at the deficit before the goals dried up after Petrocelli’s tally that cut Concord’s lead to 8-6.

The Tomahawks fired 20 shots at Concord goalie Jay Blasko, nine of which came in the second half. The Crimson Tide did not allow Merrimack to test Blasko (14 saves) with many close-range shots in the second half.

“I just told the guys - they’re very disappointed - but I thought offensively, even though we only (had) six goals, we played well,” Merrimack coach Brian Miller said. “We hit four pipes. We had tons of shots. I mean their goalie over there, holy cannolis, he was standing on his head today.

“We’re a team trying to figure it out on offense a little bit and we struggle at times but I thought they played well. ... We’re getting better but we’re just not there yet.”

One area Miller said the Tomahawks are still working on is starting games with energy. Concord jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Merrimack got on the board with 1:01 left in the opening quarter on a goal from Luccas Booth.

Merrimack cut the Crimson Tide’s lead to 4-3 with 4:42 remaining in the first half but Concord tacked on two more goals before the intermission to regain a healthy cushion.

Pearl, Eaton Tarbell and Jeff Emmons each had a hat trick for the Crimson Tide. Emmons also won 11 of 22 faceoffs and Concord received two goals from Zach Painchaud and another from Sam Nichols.

Petrocelli and Ben Eichman each logged two goals for the Tomahawks. Booth and TJ Fasano also scored and Garrett Murray made seven saves for the Tomahawks. Brendan Parr and Zach Twardosky combined to win 11 faceoffs for Merrimack.

“They’re a fun group,” Smith said of his players. “They’re learning, they want to learn, they’re attentive. They’ve had some tough games but those are learning games. This is one where, 12-6, I’ll take that effort.”