The Hall boys lacrosse team suffered a disastrous 18-3 loss to Haddam-Killingworth in West Hartford on Saturday morning.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

There were 21 goals scored in Saturday morning’s lacrosse tilt between Haddam-Killingworth and Hall. Unfortunately for the host Titans, they only scored three of those – being held without a goal or shot on goal the entire first quarter – in an 18-3 loss.

“We got out hustled,” said Hall head coach Keith Blum after the game. He was not kidding. The Cougars outplayed, outhustled, and outmuscled Hall at both ends of the field. It started in the face-off circle where Joshua Firth won seven of eight for H/K in the first quarter and the Cougars scored on each.

The scoring started just :48 into play when Kody Lehet scored the first of his four goals in the game, and less than two minutes later he picked up his second. H/K then scored their next two goals in a span of 30 seconds – the last on a great solo effort from Spencer Savoy who carried it in to about 20 yards out and let a shot rip.

The opening onslaught continued when Lehet carried the ball out from behind the net. Two Hall defenders collided, leaving Lehet alone to make it 5-0. On offense H/K kept the ball in motion, taking it outside, pulling out defenders to create space inside for the easy goals.

Hall would find itself down 7-0 after the opening quarter of play, and looking for some answers and some motivation. The Titans managed just four possessions in the offensive zone in the first, and each ended with a turnover. “They have to realize that there are 23 seniors on this team and this is their last season of high school sports,” Blum said.

Hall did show some life in the first minute of the second when Charlie Ganey scored his team’s first goal with the Titans playing up a man. The Cougars would once again control the ensuing face-off, run off the final 90 seconds of the shorthanded play, and then at 8:35 turn it into an 8-1 game with Finn O’Hanlon’s goal.

Connor McHugh nearly scored Hall’s second with a nice shot on goal, but sophomore goalie Colin Civiello was equal to the task. Haddam-Killingworth continued its dominance though most of the second. In addition to face-off wins, they also won more ground balls to keep Hall from being able to mount any offense. After going up 9-1, H/K hit the 10-spot when Ethan Pitt beat his defender in 1v1 coverage and fired a shot past goalie Solomon Levy.

Hall would score the final goal of the half when Ben Carlson deposited a rebound of a Matt McDermott shot to make it 10-2 at intermission. It could have been much worse as the Cougars hit the post on five shots, and Levy was there on several other occasions.

Hall came out stronger early in the second half, taking the opening face-off and getting a shot off that hit the post. H/K then went back into its offensive set and Savoy would score the first of his back-to-back goals at 8:06. Both cane from about 15 yards out with no defender between Savoy and the goal. The first goal came when he shot from the left to the right and the second about 3:00 later came from nearly the same spot, going high to the right, this time with a laser.

Hall would answer 37 seconds later when McHugh carried the ball from the side of the goal, drawing defenders. He found Carlson cutting into the middle and Carlson scored his team’s third – and final – goal of the game to make 12-3.

“We just are not putting it together yet,” Blum said of his team.

Hall did find some success in the face-off circle when Ben Putnam moved in to take the draw. Even on the ones he did not win cleanly, he used his body to fight and shield the ball to allow teammates to come in to help. “We are trying to switch some things up on the face-off, but it is just not working,” said Blum.

Haddam would score four more goals over the final period to complete the 18-3 win. The Cougars improved to 7-0 on the season and have scored in double digits in each of their games. Hall plays its next three games next week on the road at Bristol, Avon, and Enfield, with only Avon having a better than .500 mark.

Game notes

• Hall has given up a total of 27 goals in its last two games (both losses) while scoring 14.
• Hall now has a four-game losing streak.
• Haddam-Killingworth is the only unbeaten team in Class S after the win and are ranked second behind Suffield.
• The Cougars have allowed just five total goals in their last three games, while scoring 53 times. On the season they are winning by an average of almost 12-and-a-half goals.
• The Titans sit in 18th place in Class L, out of the post-season picture right now.

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