BARNSTABLE — A captivating season for the Nauset boys lacrosse team that included a march to an unprecedented second consecutive Final Four appearance, came to an abrupt end on June 11 at W. Leo Shields Field in Barnstable as the second-seeded Warriors lost 14-3 to the third-seeded Falmouth Clippers. Without their senior captain and faceoff rock, Logan Poulin, the Warriors lost convincingly. The loss snapped Nauset’s 12-game winning streak as they ended their season with a record of 17-5.
The teams split the regular season series, with Falmouth taking the first game by five goals early in the year and Nauset winning the rematch in Falmouth, 8-7. Many in the large crowd expected a game that would be decided in the last few minutes. Instead, they witnessed a stunner that was arguably out of reach by halftime.
It was a night when Nauset could not seem to get untracked. An explosive offense that generated many astounding runs this season, including a 7-goals-in-4-minutes spurt in the quarterfinals against Nashoba, was held to 3 widely dispersed tallies by a swarming Falmouth defense.
The Warriors seemed jittery early, committing several uncharacteristic turnovers. The Clippers, on the other hand, started fast and never faltered. Their answer to Nauset’s freshman star, Jack Peno, was Jackson Smith, who, like Peno, is a freshman attackman who wears number 1 and possesses talent in abundance. Smith scored twice before Nauset gained possession of the ball in their offensive end. He finished with 3 goals to complement the 4 scores that his brother, junior midfielder and faceoff man Travis Smith, compiled. Jamison Murphy also had 4 goals for the Clippers.
Poulin was unavailable as he was in Wisconsin trying out for a junior hockey league team, taking the next step in another sport where he also excels. “We missed him for sure,” said Nauset Coach Jesse Peno. “But it’s not just one guy,” he added, noting that the team took steps prior to the game to account for Poulin’s absence.
It is questionable whether Poulin’s presence, as important as it would have been, would have changed the outcome, given Falmouth’s consistently high level of team play. The Clippers’ Travis Smith dominated the faceoffs, winning them all in the first period. Their defense, led by sophomore goalie Gavin Powderly, shut down a Warriors team that had averaged almost 19 goals per game in their three previous tournament appearances.
Jack Peno, fresh off a jaw-dropping 7-goal effort versus Nashoba in the quarterfinals, was handcuffed all night by an inspired Clippers defense that double- and triple-teamed him, mostly preventing him from displaying his elusive talents. Peno was held to only one assist but certainly registered double-digit bruises from the pummeling he was administered as he gamely attempted to create offense.
Odd as it seems in describing a contest where 14 goals were allowed, Zach Coelho, the senior goalie from Truro, was masterful in the net for much of it. He made at least three “how-did-he-do-that?” saves to keep the Warriors within two before they finally broke through on a Joey Berardi goal to make the score 2-1 with 2:24 remaining in the first quarter.
That turned out to be Nauset’s high point. The Clippers went on an 8-goal run that ended with a Michael Flynn man-up goal with 30 seconds remaining in the half to make the score 10-2 at the break. If not for Coelho, it would have been much worse.
“[The team] started out slow but he kicked into gear,” said an admiring Peno of his netminder. “He has a quiet presence,” observed the coach, who went on to describe how Coelho and many of his teammates, who also played for Nauset’s championship hockey team, seamlessly jumped from one grueling season to the next.
In the game’s immediate aftermath, the Warriors gathered around their coach for a few uplifting words and then consoled each other with hugs and smiles. There were none of the tears that often come with a season-ending tournament loss. Instead, the team’s reaction seemed to mirror that of their upbeat coach. The scene was filled with disappointment, certainly, but there was also unmistakable pride and awareness of a wonderful season full of moments to savor.
“We tried and we played hard but they just played better,” said junior midfielder Jake Eldredge, who was a defensive mainstay all year for the Warriors. “It was frustrating not to be able to play with Logan in the last game, but we all just played as hard as we could.”
“Credit to Falmouth,” said Coach Peno. “Rory’s a great coach, and they did a really good job,” referring to Rory Morse, his counterpart on the Clippers’ sideline.
“This was a tough one, but the loss today doesn’t make our season,” Peno continued. “They had an incredible year. What the team accomplished was huge. It hasn’t happened before — back-to-back trips to the Final Four. I’m proud of these guys.”
