JORDAN - With the postseason on the line, the Jordan-Elbridge boys lacrosse team figured out Bishop Ludden's defense and kept its playoff hopes alive.
Jill Connor / The Citizen
Jordan-Elbridge senior Kory Smart pushes past Bishop Ludden defender Connor Brown to score the Eagles' 20th goal in the fourth quarter on Tuesday.
Jordan-Elbridge senior Kory Smart pushes past Bishop Ludden defender Connor Brown to score the Eagles' 20th goal in the fourth quarter on Tuesday.
In a must-win game for both teams, the Eagles scored seven goals in the third quarter en route to the 20-13 win. Jordan-Elbridge (7-10) must win Thursday against Marcellus to secure a berth in sectionals.
“We knew that possession was important, whoever had the ball was going to score,” said J-E coach Rick Young.
“When they had the ball they could score; when we had the ball we could score. That's what we talked about beforehand and that's exactly what happened.”
The Eagles managed to stay just ahead of the Gaelic Knights in the first half, taking a 8-7 lead into intermission.
Young noticed that Bishop Ludden goalie Shawn Lynch was shutting down J-E down low, so the Eagles switched it up in the second half.
“He's a short goalie and a lot of times short goalies will bait you to make you go high, but he was going down all the time,” Young said. “Even on the high shots, he would go down a little bit first and then up so our guys shot high.”
The result was almost immediate. Brian Belcher and Kory Smart scored a pair of goals to put the Eagles up 10-7.
Bishop Ludden added two to make it 10-9, but J-E responded by scoring seven unanswered goals.
“They were pressing out on us, so when they pressed out they didn't have any back-up,” Young said.
“If we beat any of their players, the guy could go right in. They had one slide, but they didn't have a second slide. Our kids made two passes, so we worked on that and it finally worked.”
Smart scored a game-high eight goals, and passed out two assists in the win, while Josh Livingston added six goals and an assist.
Belcher had five assists to go along with his goal.
“We just seemed to know exactly where each other was,” Smart said. “Brian Belcher found me every time. It was pretty good. Everybody was looking for each other - pretty much unselfish lacrosse.”
Also scoring for J-E was Joe Poppe, who found the net four times, Abe Patrick (one goal and one assist) and James Hohm (assist).
Keeper Ken Bush had 11 saves between the pipes, while Connor Smart pitched in with one.
The Eagles had an overwhelming 52-19 advantage in ground balls, led in shots 46-33 and face-offs 18-15.
J-E hosts Marcellus (6-11) at 6:30 on Thursday.
“We played them in the beginning of the year, and we won but it was close,” Smart said. “It should be a good game.”
Eagles 20
G. Knights 13
“We knew that possession was important, whoever had the ball was going to score,” said J-E coach Rick Young.
“When they had the ball they could score; when we had the ball we could score. That's what we talked about beforehand and that's exactly what happened.”
The Eagles managed to stay just ahead of the Gaelic Knights in the first half, taking a 8-7 lead into intermission.
Young noticed that Bishop Ludden goalie Shawn Lynch was shutting down J-E down low, so the Eagles switched it up in the second half.
“He's a short goalie and a lot of times short goalies will bait you to make you go high, but he was going down all the time,” Young said. “Even on the high shots, he would go down a little bit first and then up so our guys shot high.”
The result was almost immediate. Brian Belcher and Kory Smart scored a pair of goals to put the Eagles up 10-7.
Bishop Ludden added two to make it 10-9, but J-E responded by scoring seven unanswered goals.
“They were pressing out on us, so when they pressed out they didn't have any back-up,” Young said.
“If we beat any of their players, the guy could go right in. They had one slide, but they didn't have a second slide. Our kids made two passes, so we worked on that and it finally worked.”
Smart scored a game-high eight goals, and passed out two assists in the win, while Josh Livingston added six goals and an assist.
Belcher had five assists to go along with his goal.
“We just seemed to know exactly where each other was,” Smart said. “Brian Belcher found me every time. It was pretty good. Everybody was looking for each other - pretty much unselfish lacrosse.”
Also scoring for J-E was Joe Poppe, who found the net four times, Abe Patrick (one goal and one assist) and James Hohm (assist).
Keeper Ken Bush had 11 saves between the pipes, while Connor Smart pitched in with one.
The Eagles had an overwhelming 52-19 advantage in ground balls, led in shots 46-33 and face-offs 18-15.
J-E hosts Marcellus (6-11) at 6:30 on Thursday.
“We played them in the beginning of the year, and we won but it was close,” Smart said. “It should be a good game.”
Eagles 20
G. Knights 13
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