CLANK! Unionville thwarted by Eagles, pipes

The Indians played one of their best games of the season, but fell 10-4 to Bishop Shanahan By Dave Conard Sports Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com

Unionville's Matt Kelly makes a sensational move but is victimized by the pipes in the second quarter

EAST MARLBOROUGH—One of the most basic rules of the universe is that when taking into account a flat surface, that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.

Lacrosse players are not generally known for their knowledge of physics, but after dropping their fifth consecutive Ches-Mont league in the manner in which they did, coach John Rohde’s boys may be spending some time in Mr. Hurry’s lab.

On Tuesday night, although all contributing factors, it wasn’t the Indians youthful inexperience, a stingy Bishop Shanahan defense led by a division one recruit or even a combination of miscues that cost Unionville a chance to claim its first win of the season.

In truth, it was the 1 ½” steel pipe that lined the Bishop Shanahan goal cage that presented the biggest challenge for the Indians attackers as Unionville hit the cross bar twice and the posts three times, preventing the hosts from having a chance to snag their first win.

Unionville celebrates a goal by David Appruzzes

Considering the fact that a lacrosse net offers 36 square feet of area to record a goal, it would seem unlikely that all five shots that made contact with the pipes would avoid the twine, but that was the case dooming a solid effort overall by the Indians offense.

After allowing the Eagles to jump out to a 3-0 first quarter lead before getting on the board with 1:43 left, Unionville controlled play for almost the entire second period, but three posts and a shot into the goal tender’s chest protector, allowed Shanahan to escape with a 5-1 halftime edge.

“We need to play like this, not like that,” said Rohde, as he made a motion with his hand first of a fist then of a wide-open hand, indicating that a fist is much stronger than the outstretched hand. “We have been playing like five guys going every where, we need to really focus on playing as one, we are young but that is no longer an excuse.”

Unionville (0-5 league) locked down the Shanahan attackers in the second half and again had the better of play, as the Eagles were content to have an endless parade to the sideline as Shanahan committed eight straight penalties, but the Indians could not capitalize.

Fueled by two tallies within 40 seconds of each other by seniors David Apruzzese and Matt Olsen, Unionville cut the lead to 8-3 mid way through the third quarter, before the Eagles quelled the uprising by posting two goals to close out the period.

In a physical game, Bishop Shanahan outlasted the Indians

Two shots wide of the net and one right into the bread basket of keeper Anthony Wagner, who made eleven saves, again stalled the Indians momentum, allowing the Eagles to hold Unionville scoreless for the last eleven minutes and change, preserving the win.

“Hey 0-5 is not the end of the world,” said senior Matt Kelly, who fell victim on two occasions to the “curse of the post” as he made two great moves to get to the net only to be thwarted by the pipes. “We have been working hard and the younger guys are really improving, they are a very good team and we won the last period, we have to forget about this game and get ready for Avon Grove, get a win and get back into the playoff race, but we have to do it one game at a time.”

Bishop Shanahan 3 3 4 0 -10

Unionville 1 0 2 1 – 4

Scoring

First quarter

9:53 BS McEarlean

6:09 BS McEarlean from Gianetti

2:31 BS McEarlean

1:43 U Apruzzese

Second quarter

6:09 BS Menok from McEarlean

4:53 BS Menok from McEarlean

2:06 BS McEarlean