Kennedy gets best of Mepham

Attackmen Michael Casson and Zac Shuldiner combined for six goals as Kennedy knocked off Mepham, 10-3, in a Conference B-I boys' lacrosse game on May 5.

Mepham won the opening face-off but wasn't able to capitalize on the possession — the first few minutes saw both teams getting shots on net, but to the count of zero. Kennedy was finally able to break through in the first quarter as midfielder Jared Lerman took on his defender for the goal. That patience was part of the game plan, Kennedy coach Craig Papach said. 

"We want to be patient we want to get the right match-ups," Papach said. "And that's why were able to get some good shots off."

The Cougars jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter with additional goals from Casson and Joe Stagliano. Mepham's Kevin Zollo was able to put the Pirates on the board with a fast break at the end of the quarter. Those fast break opportunities were the only times Mepham was able to break through the Cougars' defense — a problem Papach had foreseen.

"Our game plan was to try to play settled defense with them, not give them any fast break opportunities," he said. "So a couple of times we were flat footed, we were on offense for a long period of time, we lost the ball, they came down, they caught us sleeping."

While the Pirates were able to catch Kennedy's defense off guard a few times, the senior defense and goalie Patrick Grillo were a large part of the Cougars' win. The Cougars' defense focused on keeping Mepham out on the perimeter and not allowing too many fast breaks — they did their job.

"The defense in front is the key, they've been solid all  year," Papach said. "We haven't had a bad game on defense."

Losing 6-1 at the start of the second half, Mepham's Dylan Carnevale looked to put a little bit of fire under his team. Carnevale won the face-off and drove straight to goal to make it 6-2. But a slew of turnovers and mistakes in the midfield returned the game to Kennedy's hands. 

Mepham coach James Koester noted missed passes and turnovers have been an ongoing problem.

"All year that's been our Achilles' heel," Koester said. "We make mistakes in the middle of the field, we throw the ball away, make bad decisions and it gives teams an opportunity to turn those into scoring opportunities."

Confidence in this annual cross-town rival game was also a factor, Koester added. "I think they get up for this rivalry a little more," he said of Kennedy. "Over the last four years I think they've had our number."

Even though Kennedy has come out on top recently, the Cougars have never underestimated Mepham's quickness and ability to score, Papach said. 

"We have tons of respect for that team," Papach said.  "We just thought if we had the ball we were going to be able to score, we were going to be patient and score."