Defensive intensity helps lift Nashua North boys lacrosse past Merrimack

MERRIMACK - There were no adjustments or changes to the game plan Saturday that were going to help the Nashua High School North boys lacrosse team.

If the Titans were going to beat Merrimack, they were going to have to find something to help them rise to the occasion.

North did just that in the second half, and the increase in physical play on defense spread throughout, as the Titans were able to put away the Tomahawks 15-9.

Jon Searles tied a North (2-0) record by scoring seven goals, while Jake Genest had two goals and four assists and Christian Filonow added two goals and two helpers. The Titans also got a goal and assist each from Tom Haller, Jake Redman and Joey Paige.

North led 8-7 at the half, but Merrimack tied things up on a goal by Connor Cyr (team-high four goals) midway through the third quarter. The Titans got the lead back less than a minute later, starting them on a 5-0 run over an span of 8:25 that gave North control of the game.

"We had trouble getting started," North coach Keith Bertrand said. "We challenged them a little at halftime and said some choice words, and the second half was so much better.

"Defensively, we were not playing physical at all. We were letting them run right by us. We had no pride in our team defense and they were getting to the goal way too easily. We challenged the kids at halftime and they responded."

The Titans limited Merrimack's offense to one shot, and sometimes no shot at all, when the Tomahawks had the ball. At the other end, North continued to move around and avoid Merrimack until it could set up the shot it wanted. Had it not been for Merrimack goalie Robby Todd, who made 10 of his 22 saves in the fourth quarter, the final could have been more one-sided.

"In the first half, I thought it was anybody's game, and then we just stopped paying attention to detail a little bit and our clear broke down," Merrimack coach Brian Miller said. "They dumped a couple in and the ball just kept coming down on us on defense. I think we handled their best players pretty well. They had other guys who stepped up for them. They were running around and moving the ball well and we had trouble clearing the ball. Time of possession crushed us."

Merrimack also got two goals each from Mac Martin and Mark Brewster, while Pierre Watt also had a goal. Cyr scored his fourth of the game with 5:47 left to make it 13-9 North, and Todd made a couple of big saves that looked like they might change momentum.

But every time the Tomahawks would get down the field, the ball seemed to already be making its way back to their end.

"I thought they gelled as a unit," Bertrand said of North's defense. "They were more physical and they were hunting that groundball. Our clearing game got better. When you start to play more intense lacrosse, defensively, everything starts to work better for you. Everything just seems to follow."

Despite the loss, Miller felt the game was an improvement over Wednesday's 14-4 defeat at the hands of Bedford.

"We made some huge improvements from Wednesday's game and that was the most important thing for us, to bounce back and start playing the way we play," he said. "I thought there were some encouraging signs, that we've come back a little bit and fixed some things."

North will try to improve to 3-0 on Monday when it heads to Hanover, while Merrimack will try to snap its two-game skid at home against Keene, also on Monday.