Mepham Boys Lax Stays Composed to Fight Off Freeport in Season Opener

The Mepham Pirates won their first game of the season against Freeport 8-7 in what was nothing short of a high intensity slug-fest.  

Mepham came out hungry on the road against Freeport snagging the first four goals in the first quarter of what seemed to be an easy game. Seniors Brian Sharkey, Anthony Ippolito, Kevin Zollo and Junior Vin Moryc scored the first four goals and their team seemed in control. But after a much needed timeout from Freeport's head coach, the Red Devils answered with a late tally with under a minute to go in the quarter.

Mepham came out flat for the second quarter and yielded three quick goals before they would see the back of the net again. With the score tied at 4 and loose of momentum, Mepham coaches called a time out. The rest of the half was all Mepham, forcing turnovers in their own zone to create offense with three more goals scored in the half.  

Going forward into the second half Mepham would not relinquish its lead again, even after a potential game changing brawl on the field with only 2:36 left in the quarter. Three-minute unreleasable penalties were awarded to each team for the fight. Mepham kept composed and focused on the game at hand and took it to the crumbling spirits of their opponents.  

Freeport would score another three goals in the game, but not enough to overcome the deficit Mepham had left them in.  Goalie Brandon Lazarus had 10 saves throughout the game.

At the end of the game Mepham's Coach James Koester said, "This was our first win, so it was important to play the second half with grit... but we need to get better. We can't keep making the same mistakes."

Their next game takes them to Friends Academy on Wednesday and Glen Cove High School on Friday, before they return home next Wednesday to face MacArthur.