MV boys' lacrosse downed by St. Doms

RUMFORD -- The Mountain Valley boys' lacrosse team prepared for a challenge. However, the atmosphere shifted dramatically when Saint Dominics controled the action Wednesday afternoon.

The trio of Troy Haefele, Matt Adams and Anthony Fagone combined for every goal and the St. Doms defense proved to be up to the task in a convincing 14-2 triumph over Mountain Valley under sunny skies.

St. Doms (2-0) were a more skilled team, enhanced by a stronger passing attack around the perimeter. Mountain Valley defenders Nathan and Scott Nicols rotated back into the zone.

“The first half hurt us,” said MV coach Jeff Gilbert. “Saint Doms was successful with give-and-go passes and they were getting behind us. David (Widger) had trouble picking up (Saints) bounce shots.”

The Saints substituted freely in an effort to find the most effective combinations. Adams would get into the scoring action on a Haefele, 3:15 into the first period. Fagone netted a power play goal past Falcon goalie David Widger (seven saves).

Mountain Valley received a jolt when Travis Blachard carried the play in from the right side and flicked a shot past Saints goalie Cody Rodrigue (three saves). The Falcons trailed 2-1 with 6:37 left in the opening period, the Saints scored 10 unanswered goals to lead 12-1 at halftime.

“We just felt thankful to be playing,” said St. Doms coach Dave Haefele, who lauded the excellent playing surface. “This is only our second game this season and we started off a little slow. Mountain Valley proved to be a worthy opponent.”

Saint Doms poured it on offensively with seven goals in the second period. Haefele had a hand in the first five goals in the second. The junior had six goals and four assists.

MV made the second half a different story by picking up its intensity level. Josh Allen was active on face offs and ground strokes, while Nicholas Sterling carried play into the offensive zone and Brandon Milligan was a factor after switching to defense.

The Falcons' Kyle Duguay scored on a shot from the left side with 10:05 left in the game.

“I’m really proud of the team played today,” said Gilbert. “Especially after we made some adjustments for the second half. Brandon moved back from attacker and I told him to stick to Troy Haefele like glue. We held them to two goals.”

Photo:

A pair of Falcon defenders battle a St. Doms player to gain possession of the loose ball. (Times photo by Bruce Farrin)