Cougars Can't Shake Off Aggressive Long Beach Lacrosse Squad

The Bellmore JFK Cougars (7-4) coming off a win against MacArthur couldn't contain the ruthless offense of The Long Beach Bulldogs (5-5) in their 8-2 loss yesterday.

Head coach Craig Papach knew his team had to come out and play hard but expected a competitive and close scoring game. 

"I really came into this game thinking we would compete," Papach said. "We needed that one big play to keep it close but we just couldn't execute our offense."

The first quarter, Kennedy was on the field in spirit, but just couldn't coordinate their offense or defense to contain Long Beach's persistence on the net, scoring three goals on five shots.

By the second quarter Kennedy seemed to get back in the game outscoring Long Beach. Michael Casson was able to capitalize on a Long Beach penalty and scored the first goal of the quarter. Zac Shuldiner contributed to the attack as well with one goal to end the half 4-2.

"We outplayed them in the second quarter," Papach said to his team at halftime. "We need to make smart decisions and create opportunities in order to fight back and win this one. We need a couple good shots, make good passes and handle pressure well and we'll be in good shape."

The second half of the game got away from the Cougars quickly. They had difficulty clearing the ball and just couldn't crack the Long Beach defense.

Penalties proved costly as Kennedy's defense gave up four-man down goals in the half to Long Beach and their ruthless assault on net.

"Penalties were definitely a problem in this game," added Papach. "We just can't draw that many penalties and expect to win, especially when they result in an opposing team goal."

The next home game for the Cougars is next Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. when they take on cross-town rivals, the Mepham Pirates.

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