Wayne County Life

   NEWARK (MAY 6 11) – For 29 minutes, 37 seconds this afternoon, Newark kept the Mynderse Blue Devils off the scoreboard. In that same time span, the Reds erased a 4-2 deficit and took a 6-5 lead into the last nine minutes of the game.

   The Reds were patient, were careful, and when they had to be, they were aggressive and assertive, imposing their will on Mynderse.

   But the Devils owned the first few minutes of the game and alas, for Newark, Mynderse also owned the last few minutes, scoring the last three goals to work a 7-6 win.  

   “Lacrosse is a game of runs,” said Newark co-coach Matt Groot. His kids made them, he said, and so did Mynderse. When the teams met for the first time this season, the Devils won, 12-6, and did so by doing all the scoring in the final period.

   “We had a 6-4 lead today, and we did it on a run in the middle of the game. They had their run at the end of the game, at the right time,” Groot said.

   Mynderse got two quick goals with 9:15 left in the first period to start off the scoring. Leroy Haltown broke the ice with an aggressive feed from Dan Garusha. The second score, from Aaron Peterman, hit the net moments later but since the clock never restarted, it was also timed at 9:15.

   Junior midfielder Anthony Manthorne battled through from the left side of the Mynderse defense to score Newark’s first goal with 7:24 left in the first period. Mynderse got a couple of quick insurance goals with three minutes left, Peterman putting his second score into the net (unassisted), and Mike Clark getting his first goal of the day, making it 4-1.

   Newark’s patient approach was evident in the last goal of the period, one that took more than a minute in formation, Manthorne again coming from keeper Tim Tickler’s left to get the second Red score just as the buzzer sounded in one of the strongest plays of the game.

   As the Reds practiced patience, Mynderse sat on the lead in the second period, with neither team reaching the net.

   The game took a measurable turn in intensity right after halftime. For the moment, Newark owned the field. Jack Timerson scored with 10:46 left, and Manthorne got his hat trick with 7:27 left, tying the game. Then Eli Ebanks put Newark ahead for the first time at 5:40.

   Newark maintained pressure into the last quarter, Ebanks getting his second goal with 9:48 left to play. Now the Reds were ahead, 6-4. In the next four minutes, twice with man-on advantage, Mynderse scored three times – Brett Wood at 9:25 with an assist from Peterman, Peterman then getting his own hat trick at 8:11 with an assist from Halftown, and finally Halftown running a clinic on a Newark defender, getting the game-winner through perseverance at 5:19.

   Junior goaltender Dominic Camblin made 11 saves, and had an excellent second half with a lot of vocal fan support marking his stops. “He made some big saves for us,” said Groot. “He came up big time in goal.”

   “Our offense moved the ball around better in the second half and we got some great shots,” said Groot. “We want to be patient. At one point in the first half we held onto the ball for five minutes, but we didn’t score. We play low-scoring games like these. We want to get patient possessions and get the defense to break down – that’s our style.”

   Newark’s record drops to 4-6; Mynderse improves to 4-4.