Indians boys lacrosse team narrowly defeats Apponequet Lakers
Apr 8, 2024
In a major reversal from last season, the Indians narrowly defeated the Apponequet Lakers 9-8 in overtime. Photos by Justice Burnaugh
The game stretched into overtime after the Indians and Lakers tied 8-8 at the end of the fourth quarter.
Will Gibson pushes outruns a Laker at Monday night’s game.
Finishing last season 16-1, the Apponequet Lakers are a worthy adversary on the field.
Jackson Hart delivered the winning goal on Monday night.,
The Indians and Lakers face off.
After a tit-for-tat game that remained tied through much of the fourth quarter, the Dartmouth boys varsity lacrosse team narrowly defeated Apponequet Regional High School 9-8 on Monday, April 8.
This is a major departure from the last two seasons that saw the Indians consistently losing by large margins to the Apponequet Lakers. But at a home game on Monday night, the Indians finally defeated the Lakers when Jackson Hart scored the winning point in overtime.
Head Coach Mark Rossi said the Indians’ victory over the Lakers has left him optimistic for the coming season. The Indians finished last season on a low note at just 5-13. That’s a far cry from the Apponequet Lakers who stormed their way to the Sweet 16 following a 13-game winning streak.
The Indians have some new blood on the team this year, which Rossi said presents a learning curve for the coming season.
“It’s still a really young group, they battle hard,” Rossi said. “I have confidence in some of the young guys coming up.”
But younger players equals less experience, Rossi said, which may account for many of the Indians’ penalties Monday night, as new players test the waters of what they can and can’t get away with on the field.
Despite the Indian’s victory, Hart said there’s still plenty of room for improvement, which begins with getting the basics down. The Indians lost 8 of its 10 face-offs to the Lakers. Those numbers need to improve if the Indians want to keep scoring wins, Hart said.
“If we can get all of this stuff down, I think we can be a great team and hopefully make the tournament,” Hart said.
Playing lacrosse since he was 10, Hart said he enjoys the sport for its speed, physicality and aggressiveness. Speaking of Monday’s narrow victory, Hart said he keeps his head in the game by staying rooted in the present and not focusing on the scoreboard.
“I just try to play ahead,” Hart said. “I don’t focus on anything that happened in the back. I just picture the game as though it were still 0-0.”
The Indians will face the Lakers again on Monday, May 20 at the Apponequet Regional High School lacrosse field.
