The Masco boys’ lacrosse team’s late first half surge and second half dominance propelled their win against Peabody 11-4.
Early in the game, it appeared as though it was going to be a low scoring defensive matchup, as only one goal was put on the board by Peabody in the first half. They took the 1-0 lead into the second quarter.
In the first quarter, both offenses struggled to gain momentum. For Masco, their offense was having trouble manufacturing high quality scoring chances, as Peabody’s defense had great net front coverage which made it nearly impossible for the Chieftains to get to the front of the net and create chances to put the ball in the net. This conservative defensive style for Peabody also slowed Masco’s offense down, as despite the fact that Masco was able to possess the ball for extended periods of time, they were not able to open up the Peabody defense.
“We definitely got off to a slow start,” said head coach Chris Roach. “We had some pretty good looks early on, but struggled with our shot placement and we allowed their goalie to heat up with some early saves.”
In the latter half of the second quarter, following a Peabody goal from senior Matthew Bettencourt which made the score 2-0 in Peabody’s favor, the Masco offense started to pick up the pace, which allowed for the game to open up, creating an advantage for Masco.
The first goal of the game for Masco was scored by sophomore Miles Mireault, who took a pass from junior Anthony Giacchino and hurled it towards the net, beating the Tanners’ goalie to cut the Peabody lead in half 2-1.
The first goal by the Chieftains would lead to an onslaught of goals. Giacchino, who assisted on Mireault’s goal, would score his first of five goals in the game and a minute later would put up another goal to put Masco up 3-2 which would be the score going into halftime.
“Giacchino really got it going for the offense this game,” said senior captain Robbie Engel. “He had an unbelievable game and is having an amazing season because of how well he can get his hands free on the run and is able to shoot from anywhere he wants on the field.”
Coach Roach talked about the contributing factors to Masco’s turnaround late in the second quarter.
“We were able to score three quick goals before half time by taking advantage of unsettled opportunities,” he said. “We were able to get the ball back on the ride to get additional possessions and won the face-offs after our goals, in order to keep the ball and create more scoring opportunities for ourselves.”
In the second half, Masco would continue to pile on the goals, as freshman standout Colin Driscoll would capitalize on a three on two opportunity to score his first of three goals in the game to put the Chieftains up 4-2 early in the third. Then, minutes later, Giacchino would score his third goal of the game to put Masco up 5-2.
Throughout the second half, Masco’s defense played unbelievably well, limiting the Tanners’ net-front chances. The Chieftains were also focused on getting sticks in the shooting lane of the Tanners to thwart off any Peabody shots.
“Keeping our sticks in shooting and passing lanes is crucial for a defense because it can cause easy turnovers and allow the defense to get the ball to the offense to score more points,” said Engel.
With Masco leading 6-3 and in complete control of the game, Engel would turn defense into offense for Masco, making 2 unbelievable passes to set up 2 Chieftain goals on fast break opportunities.
On Masco’s 7th goal, Engel made a fabulous pass to senior captain Owen McNally who dished it over to Driscoll for his second goal of the night. Then, on Masco’s 10th goal of the game, sophomore goalie Jack Wheadon passed the ball deep down the field to Engel, who flung the ball over to Driscoll, who went around the horn to McNally, who found Giacchino for his fifth goal of the contest.
“Fast breaks are so important because they can cause uneven situations for the defense, creating more scoring opportunities for the offense, and we took advantage of the chances we got,” said Engel.
The Chieftains would close the door on the Peabody offense, holding them to only two goals in the second half, allowing them to take the blowout win 11-4 which was their second victory in a row.
“The last two games were definitely huge for us,” said Giacchino. “[These games] were a huge confidence builder as the rest of the games on our schedule are very difficult. We have been fired up these last few practices and we are ready for the games ahead of us.”