AUBURN — Down by a pair of goals Thursday, the Edward Little boys’ lacrosse team had the chance to turn the tide.

Brunswick had three players in the penalty box and the Red Eddies had ample opportunity to seize momentum and close the gap just before halftime.

That’s not how it played out for Edward Little. The Red Eddies managed one shot on goal during that stretch. Instead, it was Brunswick that finished strong with a goal late in the half. The Dragons never looked back in an 18-4 win over EL at Walton Field.

“We’re still young,” said Edward Little coach Steve Cobb. “We’re still learning how to compose ourselves on those big-time opportunities. They’re such a well-coached team. They’re disciplined. They can make you play. They know how to play every situation.”

After weathering that challenge from EL, the Dragons took a 6-3 lead into the half. From there, Brunswick scored two quick goals to open the third quarter and outscored EL 7-1.  The Dragons added five more in the fourth, finishing the game with 10 straight goals in the second half.

“I think we have a little more depth,” said Brunswick coach Don Glover.  “That showed in the second half. It was just getting our focus back. We were able to play with more of a lacrosse IQ.”

Brunswick (2-0) got four goals and two assists from Cam Glover. Matt Brooks added three goals and five assists. Lucas McCue also scored three goals.

Edward Little (0-2) got two goals from Henry Nguyen. Ian Mileikis and Matt Adams also scored for the Red Eddies.

Brunswick put the pressure on early, but EL goalie Chris Poisson made some big saves to keep the Dragons off the board.  He finished with 24 saves.

Nguyen’s goal from around the net put EL up early. Brunswick finished the first quarter with four straight, two from Tyler Hillis and two from Kyle Woodruff.

“The first half, they had more momentum than we did,” Glover said. “Their goalie came up awesome. He made some great saves when our shot quality wasn’t so good.”

EL responded in the second with goals from Mileikis and Nguyen to get within 4-3 with 7:44 left in the half. Ryan Black scored for Brunswick with 7:00 left, but EL then had the chance to finish the half strong.

The Dragons had three players in the box, and the Red Eddies had an extended man-advantage. EL managed just one shot during that stretch, and the Dragons made a fine defensive stand to preserve the lead.

“We were able to dig in,” Glover said. “Obviously we didn’t want to be in that situation. The kids responded pretty well to the fact that we were down three players. We were able to hold them off, and we were able to get a swing in momentum.”

Brunswick then made it 6-3 to finish the half when Glover scored with 2:20 remaining.

“Our goalie played fantastic today,” Cobb said. “We got a few goals, and we created a little bit of momentum and rode the wave of emotion for awhile. With these veteran teams, they’ll overtake you when you don’t capitalize on six-on-threes and six-on-fours. They’re a well-coached team. We’re still learning how to take advantage in those pressure situations.”

Brunswick never looked back from there. The Dragons got quick goals from Owen Ginty and Brooks to open the third quarter.  After EL got a score from Adams, the Dragons scored five straight to finish the quarter up 13-4. 

Glover had a pair during that stretch, while Brooks had a goal and assisted on two others.

Brooks added another goal and two more assists in the fourth to finish the game. McCue had a pair in the fourth while Glover added a goal and an assist.

“They can go on runs,” said Cobb, whose team finished with just 15 total shots.  “They’re great in transition. They’re great on face-offs, as we saw today. They can score three quick ones and take the wind out of your sails.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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