By Zach
Smart
It took 11
games, but the Mahopac boys lacrosse team finally discovered how to maximize its
efforts in end-to-end fashion.
Staying
engaged through a full four quarters, sustaining the same vivacity throughout
is an immeasure intangible that Mahopac coach Mike Haddeland and his quintet of
captains have preached with an iron fist this season.
The Indians
finally executed according to that ideology, playing ultra-tight defense and
contesting every shot en route to a refreshing 8-4 victory over Somers on April
30. The brains and the brawn of man-child senior goalie Brandon Crecco helped
stabilize the Indians.
Back
stopping a youth-laden defense, the Vassar-bound senior collected 16 saves.
Crecco changed, manipulated, and altered the trajectory of countless others,
helping pilot the 6-5 Indians. Following a brutal loss to a Yorktown team that’s
ascended the national scale (it was a veritable tale of two halves, as Indians’
frustration mounted with barrage of second half penalties) and an aching 8-7
loss to Putnam Valley, the Indians came to right the ship. The focus never
faltered.
With
playoffs just around the corner and a topsy-turvy Class A which is as
unpredictable as it is wide open, a win against a reputed cross-town foe like
Somers was a highly sought after one.
“Tonight we
played great on both ends with Beans (Crecco) coming up huge with 16 saves,”
explained head coach Mike Haddeland, the newly-minted father whose melded a
patchwork core into a unit this season.
“Our defense
also had less fouls. When we are fatigued, we tend to foul.”
There were
no fouls today. No laundry-list of penalties that disrupted the ‘Pac’s offensive
flow against Yorktown and Connecticut power Barlow. The offense was fluid and milked
possession, carving up Somers’ zone defense.
Ross
Thompson led the way, depositing two goals and dishing out two assists while
shifting into the nooks and crannies of Somers’ defense. Nick Oliver, whose
added considerable range to his shot his season, also bagged two goals and
doled out a pair of assists.
There was
relative balance in the scorebook. Ty Weisberg bagged a pair of goals of his
own, Brendan Donahue added a goal and an assist, and Glenn Janik popped home a
goal as well.
”It was an
all around team effort,” said Haddeland. “Our offense did a great job of
possessing the ball against their zone. This allowed our defense to rest and
play energized. The problem we were having was that our defense was gassed
because we couldn’t win face offs or our offense would go to the goal too
quickly.”
Not against
Somers.
Crecco, who
has reaped the rewards of assistant coach Ken Donnelly’s constant barrage of
shots at him prior to each game, was exceptional down the stretch. He stifled
many quick rips, fast breaks, and denied the Tuskers any back-side looks.
For a kid of
Crecco’s academic prestige, one must wonder if he indeed calculates the arc and
trajectory of each shot to accurately measure what type of angle he should
sacrifice his body to block the shot.
The ‘Pac is
slated for a date with Hendrick Hudson, which defeated Putnam Valley 7-4
yesterday, tomorrow. Then, the Indians face a revitalized Bronxville squad in
what has all the essential ingredients to be a marquee May 4 barometer game.
As efficient
as he was, Crecco clearly was not alone. Lockdown specialist Brendan Hynes,
Andrew Neilis, and sophomore Max Littletown all stayed in front of Somers’
dodgers and blanketed shooters.
“Everyone
contributed,” said Haddeland. “We’d been waiting for a performance of this
caliber. It’s important that we were able to get under our belt. We were strong
on both sides of the ball through and through, I was proud of the way the kids
bought in.”