Coming into today’s contest with Moorestown Friends, the boy’s lacrosse team had a big opportunity to move closer to a playoff berth with a win.
The Pirates struggled offensively in the contest, falling by an 8-1 score to the Foxes to drop their record to 3-13 on the season.
Moorestown Friends is now 2-9 on the season. The Pirates end the regular season on Friday, May 13 with a home game against Rancocas Valley.
“I think we came out and were moving the ball well,” head coach Craig Angelini said. “We were attacking the cage, firing quality shots, but we weren’t finding the back of the net.”
The first quarter was completely dominated by the Pirates, who spent close to 10 minutes of the quarter’s 12 in the Foxes zone. Despite their dominance, the Pirate were not able to convert any of their chances into goals.
“I think our guys got frustrated mentally that even dominating possession and shots, but couldn’t stick it in the net,” Angelini said. “I think they had a mental breakdown. They thought that if they dominated, they were going to be dominating on the scoreboard.”
The game was scoreless after one quarter and Moorestown Friends used this to their advantage in the second, exploding for five goals in a matter of five minutes.
“Moorestown Friends had a couple of very dangerous players and it didn’t take them long to capitalize on the momentum shift of our guys getting down from not scoring,” Angelini said.
Mike O’Brien made it a 5-1 game with the lone Pirates goal with 3:18 remaining in the second quarter.
With just 30 seconds left before the half the Pirates called timeout holding possession behind their own net. The play head coach Craig Angelini drew up worked to perfection.
“We were getting good, quality shots, close shots,” Angelini said. “When we ran our plays, ran our offense, the looks were there. They just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
The ball was thrown into the air from behind the Pirates net to O’Brien in front of the Foxes net. He put a shot on goal that was saved as time expired.
Cinnaminson had the momentum going into the second half as the Pirates dominated the final four minutes of play in the second quarter.
Moorestown Friends made it a 6-1 game in the third before tallying two more goals in the fourth to win 8-1.
“I think Moorestown Friends pressured a little bit more than Hamilton West did on Monday,” Angelini said. “They rushed our shooters a little bit more. Last game our guys a little more time and room to find their mark.”
The Pirates conclude their regular season slate on Friday at home against Rancocas Valley. It is a makeup of last Friday’s game that was rained out. The game at Mainland has been canceled.
“If we upset RV on Friday, maybe,” Angelini said regarding the team’s playoff chances. “We likely needed to win-out to get into the playoffs.”
Follow Cinn City Sports on Twitter for news, scores and live updates from games throughout each season. Like Cinn City Sports on Facebook. Sign-up for our daily newsletter, which arrives daily at 8am with the previous day’s stories, on the homepage.
