In the first half of Monday’s boys’ lacrosse game, Portland senior midfielder Harry Rubin was a facilitator, setting up his teammates with passes for scoring opportunities to help the Bulldogs build a modest lead over rival Cheverus.
In the fourth quarter, when his team needed somebody to score and hold that lead, Rubin stepped up with a pair of goals 38 seconds apart, leading the Bulldogs to a 7-5 win at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
“(Rubin’s) a leader for us out there at midfield. He sets the tone for us up top, and we rely on him to control the ball,” said Portland Coach Mike DiFusco.
Just nine days earlier, Portland defeated Cheverus, 13-4. Monday’s rematch was the Bulldogs’ fourth win in their last five games.
Rubin assisted on four of Portland’s five first-half goals. Andy Marvin’s goal, his second of the game, with 21 seconds left in the first half, gave Portland (6-4) a 5-2 lead at the break.
“We’ve already played these guys earlier in the season. We knew we have what it takes to beat them. We just had to stay together, I think,” Rubin said. “Earlier (the Stags) were running a zone, so it was leaving a lot of space in the middle of the crease. I was just finding my guys there. They were moving pretty well. As long as they keep doing that, I can keep getting them the ball.”
Cheverus (3-5) controlled play throughout the third quarter and cut the Bulldogs’ lead to one. Brogan Danzing scored for the Stags with 6:11 left in the third quarter. Less than a minute later at 5:31, Luke McNabb’s goal pulled Cheverus within one.
The first of Rubin’s two fourth-quarter goals came with 6:50 to play. Rubin found some space in the middle, and fired a high shot into the net to give his team a 6-4 lead.
“I noticed they subbed out their long pole, so we had a man up even though they didn’t have any penalties. I just saw an opportunity and called for (the ball) and went to the middle,” Rubin said.
Thirty-eight seconds later, after the Bulldogs won the faceoff, Rubin deflected a shot in off Stags goalie Cameron Day for a 7-4 lead.
A freshman, Day was outstanding throughout the game, making 11 saves.
“(Day) made a lot of saves and kept us in it,” Cheverus Coach Will Tuttle said. “A lot of really good defensive play from our guys, and our older guys on offense stepped up.”
DiFusco felt his team needed to overcome sloppy play to earn the win.
“We didn’t do a good job possessing the ball. We didn’t take care of the ball. We had to clean some stuff up in the second half to get the ball in the back of the net,” DiFusco said.
Quinlen Gleason’s goal with 43 seconds left cut Portland’s lead to 7-5, but the Stags couldn’t get another shot off. Gleason and McNabb each scored a pair of goals. Clyde Spencer made six saves for the Bulldogs.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
