BATH

Faceoffs are typically something the Morse High School boys lacrosse team can rely on. The Shipbuilders grabbed one early in Monday’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference tussle with Maranacook/ Winthrop, but managed just two for the rest of the game. Couple that with an early 5-0 deficit and not even a hat trick from Declan Hall could get the hosts back in the game.

The visiting Hawks went on to preserve their lead and win, 11-7.

“I think the big thing for us today was the faceoffs,” Morse coach Jay Paulus said. “Not winning any faceoffs and we’re used to doing pretty well with that — I think we have a pretty good squad for faceoffs. That caught us off guard. To go down five goals, not good. We played flat, we made too many mistakes — unforced turnovers, unbelievable. Our mistakes, we’ll learn from it.”

Garit Liliberte broke the deadlock early for Maranacook/ Winthrop (3-2), scoring on the first shot of the game at 10:22. An ensuing Morse (1-1) penalty led to a Drew Davis unassisted finish at 8:45, and then Alex Nuce, during another man-up stretch, made it 3-0.

Liliberte made it four goals on four shots a mere 17 seconds later and by the 4:17 mark, the home scoreboard read 5-0. The Shipbuilders hardly knew what hit them.

“We just weren’t playing our game. We were settling,” Hall said. “Rushing, trying to fast-break. That’s not how we play.”

The Hawks sprayed 10 shots in the first half, with six rippling the net. Dennis Chiopette finished at 9:07 in the second frame before Sheamus Mann finally got Morse on the board with 59.7 seconds left in the half. Cameron Marco slung one off the post a couple minutes earlier in what was the Shipbuilders’ closest chance of the game to that point. Hawks netminder Andrew Caron (six saves) watched the three other shots he faced in the quarter sail wide or high.

With 19-of-22 faceoffs on the night, most of the possession and offensive attacks belonged to the visitors.

“We can’t do much with it,” Hall said. “We need the ball. Missing ground balls, we need possession.”

Back in it

Hall ripped one into the bottom corner of the net to begin the third period and make the score 6-2, but Davis added his second for Maranacook/Wintrhop a mere 14 seconds later. Still, some halftime adjustments were beginning to pay off. Morse goaltender Sebastian Hale-Krull blocked three shots in the quarter and the defense kept the Hawks out of the net. On the other side, Jacob Brochu and Ethan Brown scored a goal apiece inside the final minute-and-a-half to move the score to 7- 4 and keep Morse in it.

“We made a few changes with a number of guys,” Paulus said. “We’re playing a lot of freshmen. A lot of freshmen not playing with the seniors, so getting that chemistry going. I expect more out of my seniors — they’re going to bring it later on this season.”

Hall came alive again in the final frame, scoring twice on a pair of unassisted shots.

“I just take a second, see where I’m going to shoot and if I don’t have the shot, pull it out, pass it off so we can get a good shot,” Hall said.

The passing led to one final goal from Brochu in the final two minutes, but by that point, Maranacook/ Winthrop had closed the game out. Bailey Stockford set the tone early in the frame with a goal 22 seconds in before Liliberte and Davis each completed their hat tricks following Hall’s score. The Hawks out-shot Morse, 24-22.

“We just need to manage the ball and control the ball,” Paulus said of turning things around.

“We just play four quarters of good lacrosse,” Hall said. “Pass, catching like we should be doing. We’re a solid team, we should be showing that we can play.”

The Shipbuilders will look to do that on Thursday against rival Brunswick (6:30 p.m.), which is off to an undefeated, flying start this season.

“Brunswick is always a tough game for us,” Paulus said. “We like playing Brunswick, we like those crossover games. That’ll be a different game for us.”

Maranacook 11,
Morse 7

At McMann Field in Bath
Hawks — 5 1 1 4 — 11
Morse — 0 1 3 3 — 7
Goals — (M/W) Garit Liliberte 4,
Drew Davis 3, Alex Nuce, Zach Davidson, Dennis Chiopette, Bailey Stockford; (Mo) Sheamus Mann, Declan
Hall 3, Jacob Brochu 2, Ethan Brown.
Assists — (M/W) Tucker Nussinow,
Colin Aclair 2, Jack Vickerson; (Mo)
Wyatt Hudson, Ethan Brown,
Cameron Marco, Sheamus Mann.
Shots — Hawks 24, Morse 22.
Saves — (M/W) Andrew Caron 6;
(Mo) Sebastian Hale-Krull 7.
Faceoffs — Hawks 19, Morse 3.
Records — Hawks 3-2, Morse 1-1.
Up next for the Shipbuilders —
Thursday at Brunswick, 6:30 p.m.