ITEM PHOTO BY SPENSER HASAK
Lynn’s Terrance Mcgaucky (22) and Chandler Donavan (11) get ready to block a shot from Winthrop’s Mike Lane.
By HAROLD RIVERA
WINTHROP — The Lynn Jets can make games interesting. What they struggle to do, however, is play four quarters of lacrosse at a high level.
That was the theme of Thursday’s 14-5 loss to Winthrop at Cellucci Field.
Lynn fell into a seven-goal deficit, 9-2, midway through the third period, but an early Jets goal in the fourth made it a 9-5 game. Winthrop responded with five unanswered goals to walk away with the win.
“We need to play four quarters of lacrosse,” Jets coach Peter Pappagianopoulos said. “We have the talent, we’re just not putting it all together. We lost the ground ball battle again, which is hurting us.”
Pappagianopoulos added, “A lot of our younger guys were getting playing time in the fourth quarter. Up until that, we were down five goals. We just can’t finish. We need to take that next step.”
Ryan Clark gave the Jets a 1-0 lead to start the game but Winthrop clawed back with a pair of goals in the first quarter. Both were scored by senior midfielder Dave Barry, who tallied four goals in the win.
“He’s our senior captain,” Winthrop coach Brian Donnelly said. “He’s been a real strong player for us since last year. He’s kind of our go-to guy, not only scoring the ball but looking for assists as well as being our leader.”
Matt Moorehouse took advantage of a holding penalty called against the Vikings to tie the game at 2-2 in the early goings of the second quarter. Lynn struggled to finish the quarter on a high note, allowing the Vikings to find the back of the net four times and falling into a 6-2 deficit at halftime.
“We came out really flat,” Donnelly said. “I don’t know if it’s because of April vacation, or maybe it was a little too early in the day for us to compete. I though in the second quarter we responded really well. It was a good team effort.”
The Vikings added three more goals to their lead, two of which were scored by sophomore attacker Pat Sennott, to make it a 9-2 advantage. That’s when Lynn came back into the game, behind a pair of goals scored by Jack Stafford and Mike Clougherty, to end the period down 9-4.
“The guys worked hard,” Pappagianopoulos said. “We just make some mistakes and give up all the work we just did.”
He added, “We have to keep shooting. The guys are working hard, the senior are working hard and being leaders on this team. We just need to take that next step.”
Quinn Brinkler fired a shot into the back of the net in the opening seconds of the final quarter, slimming Winthrop’s lead down to 9-5. With three goals in a row in the span of a few minutes Lynn looked to be back in the game, but again the Jets struggled to finish.
The Vikings sealed the deal with five goals throughout the fourth quarter to earn the 14-5 win.
Winthrop goalie Andrew DiMento, a sophomore, finished with eight saves. Sennott (four goals) and sophomore attacker Brian Chalmers (three goals) also had strong performances.
At 5-1, the Vikings are right where they want to be this season.
“It’s been a strong start,” Donnelly said. “This year we have six returning seniors who have helped us. They’ve been with the program since the beginning. We have strong senior leadership.”
Up next, the Vikings visit Revere on Tuesday.
“That’s going to be a really good game,” Donnelly said. “Revere’s a tough opponent, so we’re excited to see what happens.”
Lynn hopes to bounce back on Monday when the Jets host Everett.