Albertus Falcons Fight Hard, Fall Hard in Loss to Pearl River

The Falcons played the Pearl River Pirates in a hard-fought 13-2 loss on Monday. 

With its record now 1-11, the the Albertus boys lacrosse team is still trying to gain experience and build a program that can compete in its new division.  

They continue to struggle with match-up problems against the larger schools and their more experienced teams.  Though they are improving on offense and getting more shot opportunities at the goal, many of the players on this young team still lack the confidence to take those shots.  This is simply an issue which will be resolved as the players get more game experience.

The first half ended 8-1 in favor of the Pirates.  Sophomore attacker Joe Hennesy had the only goal for the Falcons, and a total of three attempted shots for the game.  Though both sides hustled on defense and offense, the first half was decided by the Pirate's more experienced play making.  

The Falcons did quite well defensively, however, Pearl River's veteran players displayed their ability to set up offensive plays, pass effectively, and penetrate to get the scoring opportunity.  Their confidence to make use of these opportunities with accurate and well-timed shots is how they were able to win the game so decisively.

The second half was much the same as the first, though the Falcons had a stronger defensive showing, as they only let up five goals this half.  Albertus got its second goal of the game in the third quarter, when they got the ball to junior attacker Steven Crosby, who penetrated, shot and scored.  While they did come up with some more turnovers this half, unfortunately they couldn't get it going on on offense.  They were rushed on setting up the plays, in part due to the Pirates aggressive defense, and needed to be more accurate on their passing.  When they did effectively pass, the receiver would get swarmed by the defense and often got checked into losing the ball.

Though they lost, the Falcons fought hard to the very end.  If they continue to work this hard as they gain more experience, they will become solid competitors in the league.