Pinkerton boys lacrosse gets back to D1 final with win over Exeter

EXETER - It took awhile, but eventually the Pinkerton Academy boys lacrosse team did what Pinkerton does.

A sluggish first quarter gave way to a dominant second frame, and the No. 2 Astros put No. 3 Exeter away late Tuesday to win the first Division I boys lacrosse semifinal 12-7 at Eustis Field.

The win sends Pinkerton to its seventh straight final, where it will match up against rival Bishop Guertin.

“All season we’ve kind of come out slow in the first half, but we always somehow find a way to pick it up at halftime,” Pinkerton senior Owen McCormack said. “Thankfully, that’s what we did (Tuesday).”

The Astros trailed 3-1 in the opening minute of the second quarter but found their offensive groove heading into halftime. Pinkerton (16-4, No. 2 in the NHHSS Coaches Poll) scored five straight to take a 6-3 lead into the break and scored another just 83 seconds into the third quarter to open the lead up to four.

The Pinkerton attack was as varied as could be as five players found the back of the net. McCormack had two goals and three assists while senior Ryan Auger had four goals himself. Sophomore Jackson Morrissette had a pair of goals and senior Gennaro Marra had a hat trick.

Marra’s goals were big, especially his second which came with five-tenths of a seconds left in the third quarter to make it 8-5, but his dominance at the faceoff-X was mammoth. Marra won 19 of 22 faceoffs, with his only losses coming due to procedural violations.

“At no point in the game was I concerned about faceoffs,” Pinkerton coach Brian O’Reilly said. “He didn’t even need wing play. He was doing it himself. He’s picked up a couple of moves since, working hard at it.”

Marra’s goal stomped out an Exeter (14-6, No. 3) rally late in the third that closed the gap to two. Marra’s goal 67 seconds into the fourth quarter put the Astros up 10-5 and effectively ended the game.

Pinkerton outshot Exeter 33-19 and won ground balls 27-8.

The Blue Hawks got a massive game from sophomore middie Spencer Clark. Clark had four goals for Exeter and never came off the field.

“Spencer was unbelievable,” Exeter coach Gerry Holly said. “For a middie to never come off the field is a testament to how hard he works. I thought he was one of the best players on the field.”

Senior attackman Wyatt Carr had a goal and two assists for Exeter as well.

The win sets up the seventh straight championship game between the Astros and the Cardinals. Pinkerton ended Bishop Guertin’s run at an unbeaten season last year in a thrilling 11-9 championship victory. The Astros will look to win back-to-back titles for the first time since winning four in a row from 1999-2002.

“I don’t give a damn if some kid scores 10 goals on Saturday,” O’Reilly said. “Saturday is just who gets the most goals. We’ll do whatever we have to do to get that done.”