SACO — For the past few seasons, the Thornton Academy boys lacrosse team has built its identity around a strong and sound defensive core.
That stinginess was on full display against Waynflete as the Golden Trojans pitched a shutout for the final 33 minutes and got four goals from Zach Bryant on the other end to take a 9-2 victory in an inter-class boys lacrosse game at Hill Stadium.
The win stopped a two-game losing skid for Thornton (5-3) that included conceding a season-high 12 goals to South Portland’s high-octane offense last Tuesday.
But the Trojans forced the Flyers (4-3) into 28 turnovers Saturday as close defenders Tyler LaPointe, Dan Giroux and Chase Conklin, long-stick middie Jesse Meikle and two-way middies Greg Ruff and Justin Mastellar kept goalie Chris Camire’s (11 saves) cage well protected.
“Our defense really stepped up,” Bryant said. “We struggled a little bit in the South Portland game, but today, they brought it. There were a lot of good defensive stops and Chris was tremendous in net.”
The Golden Trojans were especially effective on Waynflete’s standout attackman Henry Cleaves, holding the senior to just one goal and many times isolating him on an island before sliding over or double-teaming.
“He’s their go-to guy. We’ve seen him for a couple of years now, and we knew they were going to try to do their best to get it to them,” Thornton head coach Ryan Hersey said of Cleaves.
“He did a good job that first half, but then we were able to shut him down in the second half. We had a plan to extend out and pressure and force turnovers, and it was nice to see our guys execute a little bit better.”
Thornton was able to run out to a quick 2-0 lead thanks to one-minute slashing call on Cleaves, which turned into three minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct, as Isaac Sinclair and Bryant found the back of the net for the Trojans.
Cleaves got one goal back with a bounce shot over Camire’s right shoulder with 5.3 seconds left in the first, but Thornton was able to take a 4-2 lead into the half as Bryant found Taylor Browne for a goal and then scored one himself to sandwich a strike from Waynflete’s Will Lewis.
Still, with just eight shots on goal in opening 30 minutes against young Flyers defense that has been giving up nearly eight goals a game, the Thornton attack knew it needed to be sharper over the final half.
“For the second half, coach just kind of got us pumped up in the locker room. He told us we just needed to go out there and bring it to them in the second half,” Bryant said. “We needed to get the ball moving around the perimeter faster, draw the double (team) and find the open man.”
That’s exactly what the Thornton did to start the second half as Conklin found Sinclair in transition for a shot that beat Flyers goalie Graham Ratner low four minutes into the third quarter.
The Trojans then broke the game open with two goals in 27 seconds, starting with a length-of-the-field run in transition from Greg Ruff that ended with him finding a wide-open Bryant on the right side for a shot that beat Ratner high.
Thornton won the next faceoff after a scrum, and scored thanks to Dominic Small to make it 7-3, with Bryant and Cameron Cadorette adding goals in the fourth to make it a 9-2 final as the Flyers managed just five shots on Camire in the second half.
“At halftime, we lit into them about moving off ball and doing a better job, because in the first half, one guy was doing the work and five guys were standing around, and that allowed them to really lock in,” Hersey said. “Second half, the ball movement was much better, and we needed those off-ball cuts and movement to really hold their defenders accountable.”
Thornton will now finish its regular season with four games against fellow Western Class A opponents, starting at Waterhouse Field on Tuesday night against rival Biddeford and ending May 31 at 6-1 Gorham, a game that could be pivotal in determining playoff positioning.
Hersey said receiving the same kind of defensive performance that was on display throughout on Saturday ”“ coupled with the offensive execution of the second half ”“ will be imperative in gaining some momentum heading into the postseason.
“You look at Class A right now, and there’s six or seven teams right in the mix, so it comes down to focus and hustle over these next three weeks,” Hersey said. “It’s going to take hard work and discipline over the next three weeks to make us better for when we do see a South Portland or a Scarborough in the playoffs.
“We need to see what’s going to make us successful against the better teams in this conference.”
— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or cdunbar@journaltribune.com.
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