FREEPORT – The Falcons, 2-10 in 2012, are a fairly young team, and head coach Geoff Arris looks forward to building throughout this season. So starting the year on a 14-4 loss to Greely Saturday afternoon doesn’t hamper his drive.
Arris already knows the areas he’ll be focusing on in upcoming practices.
“Our turnovers and our passing, and our communicating,” he said after the game.
Greely opened the game on fire, scoring six times to Freeport’s one, by Sam Wogan, in the first quarter alone. Had the Rangers maintained that momentum, their margin of victory after four quarters would’ve been much steeper – but Freeport slowed them down.
“We stopped all the turnovers – we had lots and lots of turnovers in the first quarter,” Arris said. “Our lacrosse IQ wasn’t quite where it needed to be in the first quarter. We started figuring things out, started moving the ball. We had, I think, four or five failure to advances – that doesn’t work for us, obviously. We started playing more solid defense, started passing the ball a bit more. They just did it better today.”
The Falcons allowed just three goals in the second quarter, though they didn’t score any of their own. At halftime, the Rangers stood on top, 9-1.
In the third, Freeport matched Greely’s two goals – another sign the Falcons were feeling more comfortable. Wogan scored his second and teammate Galen Simmons scored his first of the match.
“[The Freeport players] weren’t really running the offense that we were hoping they would run,” Arris said. “They weren’t making the plays. But when they did, they were scoring. When they finally calmed down and relaxed – every time we got on offense, it was kind of like everyone just went crazy and didn’t really do what they were supposed to. But once we settled down and started working the ball, we realized we could actually pass. Then it started working out for us.
Greely edged a little further ahead in the final quarter, putting up three more goals. But Freeport closed the game on a high note, with Simmons scoring his second goal of the game with just under 40 seconds to play. Simmons and Wogan had two goals a piece in the loss.
Greelys’ Tim Adams had five goals across four quarters, while teammate Brendan Trelegan had four. Mitchell Mullin had two (and six assists), and Gabe Belisle, Fred Bower, and Cassidy Jeffers each had one.
Asked if his boys had start-of-season jitters, Arris said, “I think so. We’ve got a freshman goalie; he’s never really played outside except in practice. He’s been playing at the Rack, indoor on turf, so he’s never really seen grass and legit shots, so I think he was a little anxious, and our defense was a little anxious.”
Greely advances to 1-0 on the season. They will host Waynflete on Wednesday, April 24 at 4 p.m. Geoff Arris’s boys, now 0-1, get their next chance to sharpen their skills when they travel to York for a 6 p.m. game on Wednesday, April 24.
Freeport’s Mikey Williams defends against Greely’s Brook Belisle. Staff photos by Adam Birt
Greely Ranger Connor Wyman attacks against Freeport Saturday afternoon.
Falcon Sam Farrar defends against attacking Ranger Fred Bower.
Falcon Sam Wogan carries the ball upfield against Greely Saturday afternoon.
Falcon Sam Farrar races for a loose ball against a Greely player Saturday afternoon.
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