KENNEBUNK — Even after having graduated 18 seniors from last year’s state championship club, the gold standard in Maine boys lacrosse is still Portland.
That much Portland made clear to Kennebunk, which fought the Bulldogs hard for three quarters, before eventually falling 18-10, in a steady drizzle at Veterans Memorial Field, Wednesday.
Portland sniper Caleb Kenney fired in seven goals to ignite the Bulldogs’ assault on the Kennebunk defense.
The first of those came just 15 seconds into the contest, which Bronso Guimond followed two minutes later.
Kennebunk, however, regrouped and netted four consecutive goals in a 7-minute span, taking a 4-2 lead.
Rams’ top scorer Nick Gross collected two of his four goals during that spree.
“We were hoping to play hard all throughout the game,” said Rams’ first year coach Vinny LoBello. “And that’s what we did. They came out and scored two goals, but we kept our heads up and took the lead.”
Portland bounced back, and traded goals with the Rams into the second period, when the teams were locked in a 5-5 stalemate.
“They had us on the ropes,” said Portland coach Eric Begonia. “Especially early on. They moved the ball really well, and we were flat. I felt like the first 10 minutes or so, we were still on the bus.”
The bus trip back to Portland might have been a silent one for the Bulldogs, if not for a string of eye-popping saves by goalie Ryan Jurgolovich.
Midway through the second period, Kennebunk’s Sean Finn broke in alone on Jurgolovich, who thwarted Finn’s point-blank attempt, then hustled the ball down field to begin a Bulldog transition.
Guimond polished off the fast break, giving Portland a lead, 6-5, it held on to the rest of the way.
Even so, the Rams (2-1) kept matters close, pulling to within 8-6 just seconds before halftime.
Portland began pulling away in the third quarter, upping the lead to 12-8 with a pair of goals by Kenney in a brief, 45-second span. Kenney scored twice more to open the fourth quarter to put the game well out of reach.
“They’re talented,” said LoBello. “They’ve got a lot of skilled players. But what I like about our team is that we hustled right to the very end. We kept our cool, and played with integrity and sportsmanship. That’s all I ask from these guys.”
The Rams will take the field again Friday, at Scarborough.
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.
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