Concord-Carlisle Boys Lax Moves on in MIAA Tourney

The No. 2 Concord-Carlisle High School boys’ lacrosse team outplayed No. 18 North Andover in the opening round of the MIAA East Division 2 tournament on Friday, jumping out to a seven-goal lead and ultimately getting an 8-2 win to advance.

“They did a good job,” said CCHS coach Tom Dalicandro. “We were a good defensive team, we had good goalies, we’re really strong in that area.”

“They’re 17 seniors, they’re fast, they’re athletic, they’re well coached,” North Andover coach Steve Connolly said. “They got a great team. They’re good offensively and they forced us into some turnovers and we didn’t control or possess the ball like we hoped we would against the team. And when you don’t do that against a good team it comes back to haunt you.”

The Patriots were up 5-0 going into the half after the offense ran through North Andover, and Patriots’ junior goalie Doug Gouchoe blocked every shot.

“I thought this would be a close, low-scoring game and for us to win like this we needed to separate early a little like we did,” Dalicandro said. “Once we got it 5-0 I knew that it would be tough for (North Andover) to come back against our defense.”

Senior Brendan Gay got the Pats on board at 6:52 in the first quarter, scoring from the right wing.

In the second, Concord-Carlisle won the face-off and held the ball on its end for nearly two minutes before getting its second goal from senior Ben Lesser’s outstretched shot just outside the left crease.

Sophomore Charlie Painter had a low sweeping shot at 5:48 and Lesser threw in two more at 3:26 and 2:42 for Concord-Carlisle’s fourth and fifth goals.

For the fourth, Lesser fought for the ball amongst a group of players near the net. He grabbed it and made a falling shot that barely made it to the back of the net. C-C’s fifth goal was scored off a rebound after Lesser’s teammate attempted a shot in the crease but was drilled with a check, causing the ball to come loose.

“(Lesser) had a great game, he’s our finisher,” Dalicandro said. “Guys did a good job of getting him the ball and he finished.”

Lesser later went down in the middle of the fourth quarter and left the game.

“I don’t know. Riding hard, he just landed on his shoulder so I don’t know. We’ll see. It didn’t look good,” Dalicandro said.

Concord-Carlisle netted two more goals in the third, upping its advantage to 7-0. Senior Matt Carroll converted the seventh goal on an empty net as North Andover sophomore goalie Cosmo Capobianco couldn’t move quick enough from his defensive position on the other side.

Although ahead, the Patriots weren’t getting their shots in the start of the fourth. Lesser grabbed a North Andover inbound pass and rushed to the net, but his shot was a grounder that Capobianco cleaned up.

“(Capobianco) was good, made a lot of good saves,” Dalicandro said. “He’s only a sophomore, so they’re young.”

North Andover was continuing to struggle, unable to connect on its passes, which caused turnovers. They also allowed Concord-Carlisle’s poke checks to knock the ball out of their sticks. But, Nick Pino was able to score two goals for his team -- with a Concord-Carlisle score in between by Mike O’Brien -- to at least get the Knights on board.

With 7:28 remaining, Pino scored on Concord-Carlisle senior goalie Steven Saul, as the ball bounced in and out on a short shot. Pino then scored at 3:58, whipping his stick against Patriots as the ball just scooted in the left side of the net.

The Patriots were called for an interference with 1:30 left, giving North Andover the ball, but Concord-Carlisle kept the Knights at bay and secured the 8-2 win.

“(North Andover has) good players out there,” Dalicandro said. “They’re well coached, they run some good sets and those guys are good, they did a good job.

"Coach Connolly does a great job, he’s a legendary coach and (Pino) just went to the goal hard and took a couple nice shots," Dalicandro continued.

“They don’t quit. Any team Steve coaches plays hard right till the whistle.”

Concord-Carlisle plays at home on Tuesday, June 7 at 4 p.m, facing the winner of Sunday's matchup between No. 7 Sandwich High School and No. 10 Shawsheen.