Leominster Lacrosse Seeks Second Half Redemption
Thursday, May 03, 2012
Junior Shane O'Donnell has provided an offensive punch as both a scorer and a passer this season.
The Blue Devils sit at 3-7, and have struggled to get consistent scoring from their largely revamped offense. Still, coach Colin Davis views the second half of the season as a chance for his team to redeem itself for a few missed opportunities.
“We feel like we left a couple of wins out there,” Davis said. “But we play a bunch of the same teams again in the second half of the season, and we definitely want to avenge some of those close losses.”
The Blue Devils have already suffered two overtime defeats this year at the hands of Marlborough and St. Bernards of Fitchburg. Both of those games were on the road, and Leominster will get another crack at both of them at home in the coming weeks. They will also get another shot at a talented Hudson team that they hung tough with earlier this season.
Finding Offense
The biggest issue for the Blue Devils has been finding consistent scoring, according to Davis. Leominster went 15-4 last year on the back of a high-scoring offense. After losing their two leading scorers from a year ago, the Blue Devils are now trying to get familiar with each other offensively.
“We’re just trying to grind it out and put all the pieces together (on offense),” senior captain Josh Demar said. “We’re getting our offense together, and guys are starting to sense where we are all going to be on the field. We just need to come together.”
While Demar has done well on faceoffs this year, winning nearly 55% of the ones he takes, the Blue Devils have been led offensively by juniors Shane O’Donnell and Alex Fioretti. O'Donnell leads the team with 14 points, and Fioretti isn't far behind with 12. But, those two have registered most of their points with passes, while junior Joe Apicella has been the Blue Devils’ best option to put it in the net, sharing the team lead with eight goals.
The Blue Devils got off to a great start for their second half Tuesday when they scored their first league victory of the year over Bromfield. The team's offense came alive, scoring nine goals, and Demar's hat-trick led the way.
Getting Defensive
While the offense has lacked consistency, Davis believes his defense has come on strong.
“The past four or five games, the defense has really picked it up,” Davis said. “Our goalie Mike Pacy is playing really well, and the guys are playing well in front of him.”
While the offense has struggled to get going, senior goalie Mike Pacy and the defense have been stout this year.
“We shook off a little rust offensively,” Pacy said. “And now we’re playing really well defensively. I’ve looked better because the defense is forcing them to take shots that are easy saves for me.”
Despite some late game struggles, Leominster does have an overtime win to its name this season, defeating Northbridge 5-4 in a defensive struggle. When Davis looks back on the season so far, he believes his team has been both encouraged and deflated by close losses.
“It sort of works both ways in that respect,” Davis said. “The Marlborough game was really deflating because we had a lead, and I think that affected the guys for a few games after. But, the St. Bernards game was encouraging because we fought hard to the end, and they just made a great shot.”
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