KENNEBUNK — Staying out the penalty box and not turning the ball over are typically two key ingredients in the overall formula leading to any lacrosse victory.

Kennebunk was unable to get that recipe right against Greely on Tuesday night, costing the Rams a win they badly needed.

The Rangers took advantage of numerous Kennebunk mistakes throughout, scoring seven of its nine goals either on the man-advantage or directly off Rams turnovers as they took a 9-6 victory in a Class B boys lacrosse game at Veteran’s Memorial Field.

The Rams turned over the ball 22 times in total to the Rangers’ 14 and took five key penalties, including a two-minute, non-releasable penalty late in the third quarter that allowed Greely to score three goals and break open the game.

Kennebunk sits at 2-4 after the defeat, and with one of the toughest schedules in the state meaning there are few easy wins the rest of the way, coach Dan Seavey knows something has to change for a veteran team that started eight seniors on Tuesday and had high aspirations coming into this season.

“We need more guys to start playing as a team and start buying in and running things like we teach them. You can’t win with 10 different guys doing 10 different things, and that’s what we’re seeing,” Seavey said. “We’ve struggled. We’re doing a lot of things better, but we’re doing some things that aren’t as good as last year, and that’s why we are where we are in the win/loss column.”

It was a big step forward for a Greely team coming off a 7-6 victory over Thornton Academy last Friday. The Rangers had fallen to the Rams 11-4 last season, and improved to 5-1 overall with the victory.

“It’s a great win for us,” Greely coach Mike Storey said. “Kennebunk’s a great team, and we always look forward to competing against great teams. Our defense and our goalie really stepped up and did a good job of making them beat us with outside shots.”

The Rangers defense was solid from the start, forcing the Rams into impatient shots from distance as Greely goalie Griffin Doree made six-straight saves to open the game while the Rangers took a 3-0 lead.

Pat Gassman ”“ who helped Kennebunk dominate the faceoff circle ”“ got the Rams on the board with just four-tenths of a second on the clock when his shot from 20 yards out beat Doree high, but the momentum didn’t carry over into the second period as Kennebunk’s first penalty turned into an easy finish for Gabe Belisle.

Goals from Josh Hussey and Jake Boothby sandwiched a second strike from Zambello as Greely took a 5-3 lead at half, and the score would remain that way until there were two minutes left in the third, when a penalty would change the face of the game for good.

With Greely in possession, Rams’ long-stick midfielder Nicco DeLorenzo tried to jump a pass but ended up leveling the Rangers’ Alex Witmore instead, earning him a two-minute, non-releasable penalty on the play.

With DeLorenzo ”“ who led Kennebunk with five caused turnovers and also picked up seven ground balls, a major part of keeping the Rams in the game ”“ off the field, Greely scored three goals in the space of 63 seconds to take a commanding 8-3 lead heading into the fourth.

“The momentum changed there,” Storey said. “Lacrosse is a game where you really need to ride the momentum when you have it. They got themselves into some trouble with penalties, (and) we were able to capitalize.”

“You go a man down, and it’s going to hurt you,” said Seavey. “As far as chippiness and getting into our heads, I think that’s when the game changed a little.”

The Rams made one last run and got to within 8-6 when Tyler Elkington scored his second goal in 26 seconds with 4:49 remaining. Gassman then won the resulting faceoff, but the Rams turned the ball over on each of its next two possessions, and one last penalty called on Hussey with 2:41 to play led to the Rangers’ final goal to seal the three-goal win.

With defending Class A runner-up Cheverus visiting Veteran’s Memorial on Friday, and games against top contenders North Yarmouth Academy, Yarmouth, Falmouth and a return trip to Greely all left on the calendar, Seavey knows that if some kind of turnaround is on the cards, it better come sooner rather than later.

“It’s a strong class, and I love having a tough schedule because it makes your team better,” he said. “This league is so stacked with good teams across the board, and that’s good for our team. But at the same time, it’s tough to get a win in this league.

“We’re very structured in our approach, and now I think we have to let the kids go to play, because we have lot of good players, and sometimes when you overload them with information, it can crumble. We’re going to try some new things and go forward from there.”

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or cdunbar@journaltribune.com.