LESSONS LEARNED
Burrillville finds footing in Division II
BURRILLVILLE — Twice in the final minute of Friday afternoon’s Division II contest against Westerly, the young Burrillville boys lacrosse team had possession of the ball in its defensive box trailing by a goal.
The Broncos, who have been ravaged by injuries to key veteran players, turned the ball over on both occasions to relieve pressure on a Westerly team that played in last season’s Division II final.
Behind a hat trick from senior attack Lucas Hiltz and three assists from sophomore attack Ben Monroe, the Bulldogs made the long trip back home with a 6-5 victory.
“We only have four seniors right now and only two played in the game and they’re both defensive middies,” Burrillville coach Eric Tupper said. “It’s been a rough season with injuries taking out a couple of kids and bad decisions taking a couple of others out. It’s a learning experience for the kids and the good thing is they’re learning what they need to do to compete at this level.
“They’re learning, but they’re still young, so they’re making the same mistakes over and over – whether it be a bad pass or clear. We still need to be better with our decision making.”
Burrillville (1-11 Division II-North) picked up its first victory of the season Thursday against Wheeler. Even though the Broncos would likely be competing for a second straight Division III title if they had remained in the state’s lowest division, Tupper is happy his squad is playing against better competition.
The Broncos were blown out by the elite teams in the division – Coventry, Mt. Hope and Middletown – but they played a one-goal game with Cranston West and they’ve been within three goals in four other games. Of course, the season ends Monday with a road game against one of the favorites for the division title, Prout.
“Talking to a coach in D-III, he told me D-III is still the same as it was last year, so this is learning experience for these guys,” Tupper said. “The kids didn’t quit this season. They knew that if they worked hard and tried hard in practice, we would compete. A lot of our games were competitive – within three or four goals – while we struggled against some of the elite teams.”
Only five players who started in last season’s D-III title victory over Middletown at Brown University’s Stevenson Field started in the same position Friday. Junior goalie Josh Newell had another impressive day with 15 saves. Defensive middies Trent Celey and Kameron Cournoyer also played well Friday. Sophomore middies Elliot Lafond and Matt Heon provided leadership in the offensive end.
Tupper’s biggest problem this season was replacing all-division attack talents Riley Tupper and Tyler Kearney. The responsibility was expected to fall on the shoulders of Matt McClure and Bryan McConnell, but both players suffered injuries.
Friday, junior Avery Tupper led the offense with three goals. One day after scoring hat trick against the Warriors, freshman Nick Hammond had a goal. Hammond is one of three freshmen in the starting lineup along with Aidan Tupper and Sean Tetreault.
“We struggle to run the set pieces we like to run,” Tupper said. “We lost Matt McClure to a broken wrist, McConnell hurt his hip and Nick Boisvert broke his ribs. We had something going on offense (against Wheeler) but it fell apart today.”
Westerly (3-9) needed just 46 seconds of the opening quarter to take the lead on a Hiltz shot over Newell’s stick. The Broncos’ new-look defense, made up of Darren Jenks and Tetreault, held the Bulldogs without a goal over the next 19 minutes.
“Josh has been great in net and he made some unbelievable saves,” Tupper said. “Having Darren Jenks back there really helps.”
Burrillville scored three straight goals in the second period to build a two-goal lead, starting with a Hammond assist to Avery Tupper. The two connected again for an extra-man opportunity effort at 6:23 and Hammond scored a goal of his own 30 seconds later.
Westerly scored the game’s next three goals before Avery Tupper tied the contest late in the third quarter. Hiltz and Seth Rodhin scored in the fourth to secure the win. Adam Keach added a consolation effort for the hosts.