BRUNSWICK

The Brunswick High School boys lacrosse program has a storied history, competing in a sport that has grown in Maine over the last 20 plus years. The Dragons have won some exciting games, lost some, and have even captured a few state titles along the way.

The 2018 edition was no different. Following Saturday’s State Class B championship game at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland, you were unable to find a player who didn’t credit the team’s “no quit attitude.”

“That’s just it, we all believe in each other,” senior tri-captain Henry Doherty said about his team’s refusal to quit. “We work until the final whistle. We’re like family, brothers.”

Brothers is a term used frequently when the players describe the overall feel of the Dragons. In fact, everyone on the team wears a bracelet that says “brothers” on one side of it.

“That was one of our mottos at the beginning of the season,” junior Aiden Glover said. “We are close on and off the field, and that translates into success on the field.”

Although you can see the direct correlation between success and wins, even the losses during the regular season proved to be the moments that defined this year’s squad.

After an overtime setback to South Portland early in the season, the Dragons took a 6-1 record heading into a midseason match with 4-2 Greely. Brunswick raced out to a 7-2 lead and led the Rangers at the break. But during the second half, the Dragons let down their guard, or as head coach Don Glover put it, “we took our foot off the gas.”

The result was another overtime loss, after Greely tied the game with 43 seconds remaining in regulation. While the loss stung, the lessons learned were undeniable.

“After that game, our team saw their true potential, they saw they can’t let up, and when they don’t, they can do special things,” the coach said.

“We learned a lot from that game,” Doherty explained. “We had a big lead and took our foot off the gas both physically and mentally. I would say we definitely became a different team (after that game), we’ve been just keeping the foot on the gas.”

“Henry’s reflection is right on the mark, we took our foot off the gas and made some mental mistakes in those losses. Which is OK, because we preach to the players we want to play our good lacrosse now (at the end of the season),” added the Brunswick coach.

A loss to eventual Class A North champion Falmouth two games later put the Dragons at 7-3 with two games remaining on the slate. Wins over Maranacook (18-4) and Mt. Ararat (16-3) placed Brunswick in the No. 2 slot in the Class B Heal Point Standings.

A Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference title (22-7 over Messalonskee) and a 20-4 quarterfinal win over Mt. Ararat pitted the Dragons against third-seeded Yarmouth in the semifinals.

Trailing 8-4 at the half, the Dragons dug in deep in the second half, coming out swinging and scoring five unanswered goals to take a 10-9 lead over the Clippers heading into the final frame.

Down 13-11 with two minutes remaining, tri-captain Aiden Glover blasted a shot to the back of the net to bring the score to 13-12. There was no quit in this team, even after the Dragons failed to score with a man advantage. With 11 seconds left coming out of a timeout, Doherty executed the drawn-up play and tied the score with six seconds remaining, setting up the overtime heroics of Max Gramins — just 33 seconds into the extra stanza.

“We’ve really changed (after the Greely loss in May),” Gramins said. “We set a hard path for ourselves and we know when that whistle blows, it’s time to give 110 percent, nothing left on the field. Its worked out for us.”

State game

Another five-goal lead and a seemingly commanding 10-6 advantage at the break had the Dragons sitting in the driver’s seat once again. But another Greely comeback quickly erased the edge in the first six minutes of the half.

“My hats off to Greely, they have exceptional athletes and are well-coached,” the elder Glover said.

Each team continued to slug it out, keeping fans on the edge of their seats by trading goals and missed opportunities. Greely fired off 29 shots in the second half, keeping Brunswick goalie Connor Pendergast on his toes. The junior made 22 saves in the contest.

“Tactically, he’s exceptional. Composure is exceptional. He’s mastered the “you’ve scored on me, OK’ and he moves on,” said Don Glover, who was also a goalie during his playing days.

Heading into overtime, each team had an opportunity to score. Brunswick missed a couple opportunities to score with mishandled passes, while the Rangers were being stuffed at the other end by Pendergast, including a game-saving stop a couple of minutes into overtime, something his teammates have seen time and time again during the season.

“Pendy has come up big in all the right moments, he was unbelievable,” senior Andrew Eno added.

“Connor is amazing. We have a thing called the Dragon Award,” senior tri-captain Gramins said. “Chris Glover passed it down to me last year and I passed it down to Connor this year. He’s an amazing kid and works hard.”

“I swear he gets better every game, he made some incredible saves today,” Doherty said.

“We knew when we went to overtime that we had to have this, leave it all on the field,” Aiden Glover added.

After a second failed attempt to drive home the winning goal, Brunswick found itself back on defense. This was what the Dragons coach called “desire” kicked in.

“Andrew was on the back side of the goalie, he came up, stripped it and picked it up. Great IQ where he didn’t take the shot, he allowed the defender to slide and open up Max for the shot,” said the Brunswick coach. “You talk about desire, to be honest, the winning goal just came from the ride. They don’t give up. They don’t put their heads down. Desire, focus on it, gas pedal, no brake.”

Gramins’ game-winner capped off the successful season and validated all of the Dragons’ mottos and goals from the beginning of the season.

Which brings us back to the bracelets the team wears. On the other side of the accessory, the words “we not me” are printed on it. Another reminder to the team, that they are a unit, not any one individual, something Gramins said they lived by all season.

“We lived by those mottos,” Gramins said. “We understand the concept of team and realize we need one another to be successful.”

Lastly, the bracelet has “prove it” on the inside, something the players took seriously heading into the Class B tournament, right up to the final goal.

“That was ‘prove it’ right there. We wanted to prove to others that we belong with the good teams in B,” Aiden Glover said. “I credit Max for putting it in the back of the net, and our goalie played phenomenal, he is a beast. He works so hard at it, he put us on his back on the defensive end.”

The Dragons have been a motto of success since 2002, playing for nine state championships. They have captured four state titles, have appeared in five consecutive state title games, and in their first season in Class B, came out on top once again.

“Look at Class B, people ask why we were going to B, this is why we wanted to play B, there are great teams all around in this class,” Don Glover said.

The Dragons graduate 10 seniors this year, but will return a solid core of both offensive and defensive players for the 2019 campaign, giving the squad yet another chance to garner another title.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.