Pomperaug High School junior midfielder Mike Schenk, No. 1, moves down the field on his way to a five-goal performance in Thursday’s 14-8 lacrosse win over Stratford. Schenk scored the first four goals for Pomperaug. (Ken Morse photo)
By KEN MORSE – Special to the #MIDDLEBURY Bee-Intelligencer #REGION15
The rivalry between the Pomperaug and Stratford boys’ lacrosse teams was evident right from the first faceoff Thursday, April 7, at Ed Arum Field on the campus of Pomperaug High School (PHS) in Southbury.
The Panthers managed to shake free from the Red Devils, exploding for 10 goals in the third quarter to pull away to a 14-8 victory, evening their record at 1-1 on the season.
The hard-hitting contact and the persistent launching of the referee’s flag led to a defensive struggle in the first half. When the two combatants headed to opposite sides of the field for the halftime intermission, the game was deadlocked at 2-2.
These two teams played for the South West Conference (SWC) Division II championship in 2014, so they have a history of knock-down-drag-out battles. Pomperaug also was the SWC Division II runner-up in 2012 and 2013. Last season’s team posted a 10-6 record but graduated 13 seniors.
Whatever Pomperaug head coach Chris Grassi told his players during the break they heard loud and clear.
“We have a great group of offensive coaches,” said Grassi. “We just needed to get more cutters going to the middle and have a few more players getting touches. I thought we did a better job at that in the second half, especially in the third quarter.”
Stratford managed to put together back-to-back scores to take a 4-3 lead with nine minutes remaining in the third quarter. More flags flew, and frustration on the Stratford sideline led to a bench penalty. That’s when the light switch went on.
The Panthers responded with a flurry. Mike Schenk (five goals) took a crossing pass from Pat Curtis (five goals) and fired one into the back of the net to tie the game at 4-4 at the 8:34 mark of the third quarter.
Pomperaug went on to score three more goals over the next three minutes with Curtis rattling the cage twice and Ryan Abarzua (three goals) taking a pass from Carson Nagashima and driving it home to open up a 7-4 advantage.
Stratford tried to retaliate but the hard-hitting defense of Owen Bartolotta, Ethan Bain and Kyle Hunihan kept the Red Devils from maintaining possession. When Stratford did manage to put pressure on the Panthers, goalkeeper John Funk (nine saves) Mark Manson, Griffin Wolf and Cameron Smith were quick to knock the advance away.
The third quarter was winding down, and the game appeared to be going down to the wire in a frantic fourth quarter but Pomperaug had other ideas. In the final two-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter, the Panthers exploded for five goals to stagger the Red Devils.
Kyle Sheehan bounced a shot through the legs of Stratford goalkeeper Dan Cox (20 saves) at 2:41 left on the clock. Then Abarzua got one to go at the 1:48 mark to open up a 9-4 lead.
The midfield of Ryan Spath, Nick Catuccio, James Gibbons and Peter Jorgensen refused to allow Stratford past the 50-yard line, keeping the ball in the Red Devils’ end. Abarzua tallied a goal with just 10 seconds left, and Curtis dumped two more in the back of the net, including the final one with just three ticks left on the clock.
Instead of a fourth-quarter battle Pomperaug headed into the game’s final 12 minutes with an insurmountable 12-4 advantage. Stratford managed to score three unanswered goals to close the gap, but the hole they had dug was just too deep to climb out of as they were trailing 12-7 with four minutes left to play.
Parker Nelson and Chad Ouellette patrolled the sidelines, keeping possessions in the middle of the field. Evan Cyganowski got a quick pass to Curtis, who found the back of the net to add to the Pomperaug lead with three minutes to go. Schenk put the final tally on the board with 12 seconds left for the 14-8 finalscore. The Panthers unleashed an offensive attack that outshot Stratford 31-17.
“I think as a team we showed our maturity tonight,” added Grassi. “We were looking for this team to finally seize those opportunities when the other team is on the ropes.
“We are a young team and we graduated quite a few players from last year. But I think we can be a tournament team by the end of the season. It’s a very attainable goal. We only have four seniors, but I think with the kind of defense we have we can be successful.”
Pomperaug is back in action Saturday at home for a 3 p.m. contest against Trumbull. The Panthers will be at home three more times next week with 7 p.m. contests Tuesday against New Milford and Thursday against New Fairfield and a Saturday showdown at 10 a.m. against Danbury.
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