Clarkstown South Boys Lacrosse Now 2-0 After Defeating Pine Bush

Clarkstown South boys lacrosse is now 2-0 after defeating the Pine Bush Bushmen, 6-5, in a non-conference match Tuesday evening.

After a hard-fought game by both sides, it was the Vikings who would come out on top, thanks to a dominant performance in the second half.

“Today, we just needed to settle down and start playing our game,” said South’s head coach Adam Chagares.  “I think we got a little too anxious and started to get away from what we do.  Once they did that, they were able to put the ball in the back of the cage.”

Central to the victory was the tenacity of the Viking defenders, who completely shut out Pine Bush in the second half.

“We just wanted to play our type of defense, our pressure, our style, our schemes and not get out of that,” said Chagares.  “They’re a very good offensive team, they move the ball very well and we knew that about them.  We knew we were going to have our hands full defensively and once our guys started to see what their tendencies were, they got more confident in what they were doing and what to expect, and they were able to slow them down then.”

To start the game, the Vikings took an early lead thanks to a goal by Joseph Buzzetti with just over a minute gone in the first.  Pine Bush’s John Schmitt answered right back just a minute later with a goal of his own to tie it 1-1.  Schmitt followed this up with another goal to put his team up 2-1 with 6:43 remaining.  Then, with four minutes remaining, Kyle Russ scored to tie it 2-2 going into the second.

Pine Bush opened up the second in control and retook the lead with a goal by Jake Schoff early in the second.  The Bushmen remained in control and Schoff scored another quick one to put his team up 4-2.  South kept their composure, however, and Buzzetti found the net again to make it 3-2.  Colin Quinn tied it up for the Vikings with a goal late in the quarter.  Bud Schoff answered back for Pine Bush just seconds later to put them up 5-4 to end the half.

While the first half was largely dominated by the offense, in the second half, the defense took control.

“I thank that to my defense,” said South’s goalie Kris Alleyne.  “The defense picked it up, played 100% and played as hard as possible and shut them down completely.”

While the Viking defense tirelessly shut down the Bushmen, South’s offense came out with the perfect balance of patience, ball movement and aggressiveness.  Halfway through the quarter, an excellent defensive stop turned into a fast break for South, and Buzzetti was the recipient on the other end off the unselfish play as he tied it up 5-5.  Three minutes later, Thomas Lent scored the winning goal for the Vikings.

“They took a little bit to wake up and, once they did, then they started feeling confident about what they were doing and they settled into their offense and their defense and they were able to come out and come out hungry,” said Chagares.

Defense won out in the fourth as neither team could break through to score a goal and the Vikings took home the 6-5 win.

Buzzetti led all scorers with three goals out of five shots on goal and had one assist.  Lent led his team in assists with two.  Alleyne finished with four saves out of nine shots on goal.  The Vikings finished the night with 17 shots on goal and four assists.

“I don’t think we played 100% the way that we worked in practices and in the scrimmages that we had earlier in the year, but I think that the same work that we’ve been putting in is the reason that we got the ‘W’ today,” said Alleyne.

The 2-0 start to their season against teams that had beaten them last year is an encouraging one for the Vikings.  They will look to continue the streak Friday when they play at Pearl River at 4:15 p.m.

“We lost to Pearl River last year as well, so we’re looking to come back and step it up and take it to them,” said Chagares.  “These first two games that we won were two games we lost last year, so we’re just looking for that little revenge factor and that always makes it fun for the guys.”