The 3rd seed Mt Hope Huskies boy’s lacrosse team traveled to southern Rhode Island to meet the 2nd seed South Kingstown Rebels in semi-final D2 action with a trip to Saturday’s Championship game on the line. Having met just two weeks ago in a game South Kingstown convincingly won 12-6, the Huskies had a tall task in front of them to advance to the title game.
With a little over a minute remaining in the first half, the Huskies trail 5-3 and take possession of the ball in the offensive zone. Senior Jack Dolan outworks an SK defender and scoops up a loose ball and whips a pass to Junior Keegan Hanley, who promptly buries a laser down low for the goal, cutting the SK lead to 5-4 heading into halftime.
After the break, the Huskies come out like a team possessed in the third quarter. The Huskies play smart and aggressive as a team on both ends of the ball. The defense, lead by Seniors Antoine Mouligne, Connor McKenna, Zach Burke, Kyle Kennedy and Juniors Ben Haberman and Andrew Squatrito, along with Sophomore Mike Lima, sparks the team by keeping SK’s potent offensive attack to the outside. Junior goalkeeper Cam Rancourt thwarts SK’s attempts with stellar goaltending between the pipes making 19 saves in all.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Huskies offensive attack turns a halftime deficit into a 7-5 lead as the 3rd quarter comes to a close. Important offensive contributions across the board came from Seniors Max Moskala, Stephen Serbst, Jeremy Serbst and Freshman Tristan Tamulaites. In the faceoff circle, Jeremy Serbst was a force, enabling the Huskies to gain critical possessions in the second half.
Early in the 4th quarter, Junior Nick Pierotti gains possession of the ball behind the goaltender and battles his way into the slot area. Pierotti takes the physical punishment and fires the ball in for the 8-5 Huskies lead. The Rebels continue to play catch up but are continuously thwarted by the Huskies defense.
In the final minutes, the Huskies are able to close out the victory and win 10-6, earning a berth in the D2 Championship game this Saturday at Brown at 4:45pm. The Huskies would like to invite all Bristol Warren residents to come out and support your local team as they take on the No 1 seed Middletown Islanders. Go Huskies!!!!