The Marblehead boys lacrosse team (14-4) hosted Newburyport (13-5) on Memorial Day with the visiting Clippers walking away with a 12-3 win in enemy territory.
This game was supposed to be played earlier in the season, but had to be postponed. Although a national holiday, Monday was the only day Newburyport could make up the game, according to Marblehead coach John Wilkens.
After the Magicians opened the season 1-2 following a loss to Swampscott, Marblehead has been on a roll, finishing the regular season winning 13 of its final 15 games to head into the postseason as one of the most in-form teams in the state.
However, the Clippers put a halt to the Magicians’ momentum with a big win.
“They’re a good team. They’re fast and athletic,” Wilkens said.
The game was tied, 1-1, after the first quarter with Marblehead’s goal coming from Cam Waldman (2 goals).
In the second quarter, the Clippers came out of the gates firing, scoring two goals in less than three minutes to give them a 3-1 lead.
Turnovers played a big factor as Marblehead dominated possession for most of the game, but instead of getting shots on goal, careless turnovers were giving the Clippers momentum.
Newburyport took a 5-1 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, two controversial penalties went against Marblehead, and each led to Newburyport goals.
“I think the difference today was when we were a man down. We let up five or six goals when we were a man down, and when we were a man up, we didn’t capitalize,” Wilkens said. “It’s a big swing.”
Wilkens said his team “did not show up mentally,” and believed it was a big factor in the game.
“We’ve been playing well. Not to take anything away from Newburyport, they’re a great team, but we made a lot of errors today,” Wilkens said. “It wasn’t our best game.”
Then, the Clippers clipped.
They added five goals in the third, compared to Marblehead’s one (Waldman), to lead 10-2.
The Magicians added another goal in the fourth quarter from James Bickell, but couldn’t overcome the deficit.
It brought an end to the regular season.
“I don’t like going into the tournament losing, but this is a wake-up call for us. We didn’t play well today,” Wilkens said.
Despite the loss, Wilkens knows he has competitors on his team who thrive in the playoffs. Truth be told, he’s looking forward to the state tournament.
“We have a lot of hockey kids who just won a state championship, a lot of football guys, so they love to compete,” Wilkens said. “Today, I feel like we just needed more energy. I don’t think we started with the right energy.”
Marblehead will wait and see about Wednesday’s seedings (too late to print).