Pinkerton boys lacrosse knocks off Souhegan

DERRY - There were a lot of things that went right for the Pinkerton Academy boys lacrosse team in Thursday's game against Souhegan.

The Astros dominated faceoffs, controlled possession and were stingy on defense in the first half, all of which added up to a 12-5 win over the Sabers.

But Pinkerton left the field thinking it might have left a little bit on the table.

"We dominated faceoffs, we dominated ball possession, we had good rides," Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly said. "I didn't think we were crisp on offense. We were keeping the ball too much on the outside and relying on too few things inside. Our goal is to win a game, not to see how many goals we can put up, so from that standpoint, we were doing fine."

The Astros scored on their first two possessions to take a 2-0 lead less than four minutes into the game, and that advantage grew to four goals with 5:15 let in the opening quarter. Souhegan got on the board in the first minute of the second, but Pinkerton scored four unanswered to end the half and led 8-1 at the break.

Chad Teresky scored four goals and three assists for Pinkerton (7-0) and Ryan Auger had two goals and four assists. Mason Drouin also scored twice while Chris Valentine (assist), Tom Sweeney and Connor Delea also had a goal each.

Alex Sturgess led the defense, making six saves, five of which came in the second half. In the opening 24 minutes, the Astros' defense forced 15 Souhegan turnovers, as the Sabers (3-2) had just two shots.

"We came out a little flat, especially offensively," Souhegan coach Keith Bertrand said. "We told the kids how much pressure they were going to be facing when they come out and play Pinkerton. I think it took a little bit to adjust to that."

Souhegan got the first goal of the second half to make it 8-2, but Pinkerton won the ensuing faceoff and answered the goal 2:07 later.

The Astros continued to control possession, holding the ball for most of a six-minute stretch after the goal, and eventually scored on a goal by Delea to take a 10-2 lead.

"The thing with Pinkerton is they lull you to sleep," Bertrand said. "We had a situation where we played defense for three or four minutes, they have a couple shots and back them up and retain possession. They'd have one cutter and we'd lose him and that's how they beat you. They wait for that one mistake and they exploit it."

The Sabers got two goals apiece from Tyler Hall and Thomas Horner. Nick Jordan also scored and Alex Burnley made 12 saves.