Rebels Sink Islanders 17-5

The South Kingstown High boys’ lacrosse team defeated Middletown 17-5 Thursday at Curtis Corner Middle School.

Neither team was able to grab a decided advantage through the first 15 minutes, with the Rebels clinging to a narrow 2-1 lead after the first. 

South Kingstown was able to open in it up in the second quarter, however, outscoring the Islanders 6-1 in the second for an 8-2 halftime advantage.

“We stepped it up, at the break our whole focus was to get back to the basics,” South Kingstown head coach Tom Duggan said.  “We were playing very sloppy in the first, making bad decisions and stupid plays.”

The Rebels kept the pressure on throughout the second half, thanks in large part to their domination of the ground ball game. 

South Kingstown recovered 69 ground balls during the game, which in turn enabled them to dictate the pace of the game.

“I think if you looked at the ground balls that’s the picture, South Kingstown got to ground balls and we didn’t,” Middletown head coach Richard Formica said.  “If you have the ground balls then dominate the ball, it’s plain and simple.”

Senior Ben Murray led the offensive attack for the Rebels with six goals, while senior co-captain Dan Duffy totaled six points of his own with three goals and three assists.

“It’s always a confidence booster when you get a few under your belt,” Murray said.  “We were clicking a lot today, and when we can get a little momentum we get some confidence and can play better.”

Seniors Cam Creamer and cam Ormiston also got in on the offensive onslaught, each finishing with hat tricks.

Freshman Armand Marzilli scored a pair of goals for the Islanders, while senior Ben Wauters, junior Kevan Sullivan and senior Ian Larcom put in one score each.

South Kingstown (9-4 Division-II South, 11-4 overall) will enter the playoffs with the second best record in D-II South, and will finish the regular season with a non-league contest against Narragansett High Monday at 7 p.m. at Curtis Corner Middle School.

“We still have some work to do, but we’re just trying to stay together as a team,” Duggan said.  “It’s a whole new season when the playoffs start, a whole different motivation and the hard part is getting through the end of any season and into the playoffs.”

Middletown (6-7 D-II South, 7-8 overall) finishes their season one game below .500, and with half of their roster consisting of underclassmen the future looks bright.

“We’re a young team so we’ve been up and down, we’ll play a good quarter and then play a poor quarter,” Formica said.  “They’ve grown, but they still have to grow some more.”