North boys lax plays well in loss

The scoreboard read Orchard Park 13, Williamsville North 1, last Thursday but coach Matt Smart said it was the first time all year that the Spartans played as a lacrosse team.

"Orchard Park is a good team but plenty of teams in Western New York have lost to them before the game even starts because they do not believe they can win," said Smart. "We have been guilty of that in the past and this year was only the second time in my six years at North (against Orchard Park) that our guys never gave up, didn't back down and played as hard as they could until the final whistle. We played confident, smart and improved. I am proud of the guys but not satisfied."

Joe Greenwald scored unassisted for North's lone goal.

"Our offense really stepped up by having ball confidence and moving their feet to move the ball," said Smart. "We had seven to nine legitimate scoring opportunities but either hit the goalie, pipes or put it in his stick. That has to change and my guys will fix it. Our middies ran nonstop, our attack worked the ball around well and we played as one unit for the first time this year for four quarters."

Smart said OP scored six goals off of North mistakes on offense, transition and defense. OP scored its other seven goals mostly in transition.

"Our defense made OP make mistakes in six-on-six and man-up," said Smart. "When we finally decided to slide to take the body, we made an impact. We cleared well, communicated and took a step forward against a good team."

Goalie Pat Stasio made 13 saves.

Smart lauded the coaching of Mike Cicco and John Stalker.

"Coach Cicco's defense played very well," said Smart. "They know what they need to fix and they have the character to improve daily. Coach Stalker brought out a little more from our guys with his motivational abilities and enthusiasm. I really was proud of how they handled the game."

Before spring recess, North lost to Lancaster, 7-2, and Hamburg, 14-0.

Smart said his team did not play to its potential against Lancaster.

"We let them outwork us," said Smart. "We didn't control the groundballs and didn't take care of the ball on offense."

Kurtis Knoble and Dan Rychlicki each scored with Aaron Dindurski and Greenwalg getting the assists. Brian Jaszka and Luke Wolfe each scooped up six ground balls. Stasio made 10 saves.

Against Hamburg, Smart said his team let Hamburg play their game.

"We played too much defense because our stick skills couldn't get the job done on offense," said Smart. "We didn't move our feet to get open for shots or passes."

Stasio made 15 saves.

Smart lauded the faceoff work all season of Rob Golightly with Wolfe helping from the wing.

North beat South, 7-5, on Monday for its first win of the season. Highlights will appear in next week's Bee. North (1-4) plays at 5 p.m. on Wednesday at West Seneca West and at 5 p.m. on Friday at Niagara-Wheatfield.