Mamaroneck Boys Lacrosse Drops Opener to Hen Hud 8-7

Mamaroneck's boys lacrosse squad looked like it was going to come away with an opening-day victory against Hen Hud when it took a three-goal halftime lead.

Leading the way was freshman attack Peter Conley, who scored four goals in the opening half. But, ultimately, Hen Hud showed why it used to play in the now-defunct power league and rallied for an 8-7 triumph.

"They made an adjustment defensively," Conley said. "Alex [Liebert] and I were able to dodge from behind in the first half. They really stepped up. They gathered in the second half inside the crease and when we came around the net we couldn't have a shot or make a pass."

Liebert is one of the upperclassmen who has made it easier for Conley to adjust to his first year of varsity play.

"They (the veterans) have supported me, especially Alex because he's a senior attackman," Conley said. "He's really shown me the ropes and tells me what to do, when to pass, taught me picks behind the net and cutting off picks to find an opening. He's really been a good mentor for me."

Another key veteran for Mamaroneck is senior Marc Lanni, who assisted on Conley's first goal to put the Tigers up 1-0 in the opening period. The rest of Conley's goals were unassisted.

"The first goal, Marc Lanni, our captain, he took the ball down the field, beat a couple of guys and passed it to me right on the crease," Conley said. "When I dodge I just look and if I see no one is there, I just come around the net. It's very slippery out here so when the defense slipped I put it in."

Mamaroneck coach Jeff Barnard said that Conley's first-half performance against the Sailors is just a sign of things to come.

"Peter is a very, very talented kid," Barnard said. "He's a freshman, he's young. He's still getting a sense of what he needs to do. He's one of these kids that are on the travel and youth league teams which he's pretty much dominated. He's going to be really, really good. He's just got to get some more time and work in. He has a heck of a lot of potential. He's a good player."

In the second half, the Sailors showed that they have plenty of good players too as they outscored Mamaroneck 5-1 after halftime.

"I think we did some things well and some things we could do a little better," Barnard said. "We really didn't convert on the offensive end in the second half. The first half we had some good looks on both ends and we were doing well. We got a couple of penalties in the second half, didn't end up with any penalties in the first half. Penalties hurt us a little bit. It really just changes the possession, the tone of the game a little bit."

Besides Conley, also scoring for Mamaroneck was Josh Trachtenberg, Hunter Pawloff and Liebert. Making 11 saves was Jack Danehy.

"Defensively, we had a good effort," Barnard said. "Our goalie (Danehy) did a really nice job. There are some positive things but at the end you can't finish a game out just scoring one goal like we did in the second half."