The Conard boys lacrosse team hosted South Windsor Tuesday evening in West Hartford.
Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance
Garrett Selstad (9) and Jules Capone (24) double team a South Windsor player. Conard vs. South Windsor boys lacrosse. April 9, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer
By Paul Palmer
Three-goal games from Jules Capone, Will Keever, and Luke Shaffer led the Conard boys lacrosse team to a 16-6 win over South Windsor on Tuesday night. The win moves the Red Wolves to 3-0 on the season.
“There is still stuff we can work on, but they have had a good mindset from camp right through these first three games,” said head coach Matt Cersosimo.
Goalie Brayden Mangini goes high for the save. Conard vs. South Windsor boys lacrosse. April 9, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer
The Bobcats had the better of the early play, spending more time in the offensive end, but not finding a way to beat goalie Brayden Mangini and his defense. Meanwhile, Conard’s offense failed to click, keeping them from stringing together any threats on goal. That all changed about halfway into the first when Liam Alver found Shaffer and he made no mistake with the shot to make it 1-0.
Two minutes later Keever would score his first goal from about 15 yards out when he blistered a shot right down the middle. John Chaves would get the Bobcats on the board with just over one minute to play and the first would end 2-1.
In the second, Conard’s offense struck for four goals, two in a span of 2:20. For much of the second, the Red Wolves ran a patient, possession offense, working the ball around the cage to set up their plays.
Nick Katsoras scores against South Windsor. Conard vs. South Windsor boys lacrosse. April 9, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer
Keever would strike for the first of those on a strong individual play. Carrying the ball across the top of South Windsor defense, he spun and fired an overhand shot to the far side of the goal for the 3-1 lead. At 7:58 of the second, Alver found himself unmarked and called for the ball which Nick Katsaros delivered, and from the left side of the cage Alver scored the fourth goal of the game for Conard.
South Windsor made it 4-2 a minute-and-a-half later, but Conard would score twice more over a span of 2:14. Once again it was a long possession by the Red Wolves that paid off when Katsaros scored to make it a three-goal lead. Then, with just 12 seconds to go, Conard scored one of the best goals of the game. Mangini made a save and began to move the ball up field. Keever came in on the fly, took the pass from Mangini, beat multiple defenders through the middle of the field, dashed into the offensive end, and fired a pinpoint shot into the back of the net to make it 6-2 at the half.
Goalie Brayden Mangini goes high for the save. Conard vs. South Windsor boys lacrosse. April 9, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer
The third saw Conard press the offense from the opening faceoff. Anish Pokhrel – who played a solid game in the circle – won the draw and Capone, starting at his defensive midfield possession, raced forward, took a pass, cut to the middle of the goal, and scored.
At 6:17 Shaffer grabbed a South Windsor turnover and came in 2-on-1 to the goal. After deeking the goalie, he deposited a low shot into the net. Forty-one seconds later it was Jordan Larson scoring on an Alver assist and at 4:43 and it was 9-2.
On defense, Conard did a good job of keeping the Bobcats to the outside. Senior Seamus Tracy controlled the left side using the long pole to stick check ball carriers and throw them off their game. Later in the third, it was Capone again making the long run in and scoring.
Jordan Lawson moves the ball against South Windsor. Conard vs. South Windsor boys lacrosse. April 9, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer
“We have all been putting in the work at practice,” said junior captain Capone. “As a team we have been playing well together so far.”
The Bobcats would score twice before Lawson scored a seeing-eye goal. It came after a one-minute offensive possession by Conard. As they reversed the ball back to Lawson on the right side he found space between the goalie’s shoulder and the post with :14 to play and it was 11-4.
The teams exchanged goals early in the fourth with Max Punske scoring for South Windsor and Joe O’Connell answering for Conard. Later in the fourth some great passing from the Red Wolves led to Alver scoring. Then the Red Wolves had a 3-on 2 advantage in transition and Shaffer let a no-look, behind-the-head pass go right into the pocket of Alver’s stick and he made it 13-5.
Garrett Selstad of Conard clears the ball out of a pack of players. Conard vs. South Windsor boys lacrosse. April 9, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer
O’Connell’s hustle would result in the next score for Conard. He picked up a loose ball from the faceoff and sprinted down the center of the field. Capone came roaring into the attack zone and O’Connell found him with the pass that Capone converted into goal number 14 for the Red Wolves. Katsaros would score the next goal for Conard off a pass from Brady Cersosimo off a restart.
The scoring wrapped up at the 2:00 mark when O’Connell crept into space near the right post of the Bobcat net. Shaffer found him with a perfect pass from behind the goal to make it 16-6.
“It feels great,” said O’Connell of his team’s 3-0 start. “We’ve jut got to keep it going.”
“It all starts with our energy,” Cersosimo said after the win. “If we lack that on offense we get stagnant. Good things happen when we up our energy.”
Fans of the team should get used to seeing an offense by committee this season, and that is just fine with Capone and his coach. “I can help as a defenseman going forward to create offense,” Capone said. “As a team we haven’t had that star player. It’s different people stepping up and playing that role.”
It’s also about character and leadership according to Cersosimo, and he sees both coming from players like Capone. “He is a high character young man,” he said of Capone. “Not only as a player but as a person.”
Conard goes for win number four on Thursday when they travel to Norwich Free Academy before returning home for a Saturday morning showdown with Trumbull.
Nate Galloway of Conard and Isaac Gerber battle for the ball early in the first half. Conard vs. South Windsor boys lacrosse. April 9, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer
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