Conard lost to Daniel Hand in boys lacrosse, 13-11, on Friday night in West Hartford.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

On paper Friday’s Hand at Conard boys lacrosse game looked like it would be a great test for both teams. Hand is the defending Class M champion and has made the finals six times since 2016, missing just once. Conard blew out its first two opponents, scoring more than 15 goals in each.

For once, a game that looked great on paper lived up to expectations with great offense, goalkeeping, and solid hits, and the Tigers scored the game winner with :16 to play and added an insurance goal seconds later.

Even in defeat, Hall coach Matt Cersosimo could not help but reflect on just how good the game was. “That was a great high school lacrosse game with a ton of energy from both teams.”

The game featured a number of scoring runs by one team only to be matched by a counter-run by the other. Conard struck first when Luke Shaffer cut to the middle and finished a passing play to make it 1-0 just 1:16 in. Conard nearly increased the lead moments later when Shaffer’s shot was stopped by goalie Anthony Albino, who would take another one off the chest later in the same possession to keep it at 1-0. After that it was Hand that went on the run, racking up three straight goals before the Red Wolves came back. Tyler Narracci and Hudson O’Hanlon netted two for Hand :36 apart, with O’Hanlon carrying the ball around the net, bouncing off a Conard defenseman before firing the ball.

With the Tigers applying the pressure, it was Conard goalie Brayden Mangini being tested over and over, and passing the test each time. First it was a strong save moving to his right, then he blanked Narracci, but the Red Wolves took a slashing penalty and O’Hanlon needed just 15 seconds of advantage time to make it a 3-1 game with a rocket that slammed in off the crossbar.

Hand was running a lot of isolation plays on offense and Conard was doing a good job of switching off the screens. At the other end, the Red Wolves were using a patient attack, with lots of possession time and a willingness to wait for the right opportunity. During a stretch both Albino and Mangini stood tall for their teams with Mangini stopping an O’Hanlon shot, and Jules Capone grabbing the rebound and racing down field to give the home team a chance. But Albino was big and shut it down. PJ O’Hanlon had the next good chance as he went low around his defender and got off a rising shot that Mangini stopped.

He would not be stopped on his next opportunity when he carried the ball to a spot in front of Mangini and scored a goal while taking a slash from a Conard player which was called. Hand now had a 3-goal lead and a man advantage for 1:00 but could not score.

Conard took the momentum and with 3:12 to go in the first, Gavin Diamond used a bounce shot to cut it to 4-2, and two minutes later it was Liam Alver stick-checking the ball out of a Hand defender’s pocket, and Torin McGoldrick who made it 4-3 with his goal. Alver was not done yet as he tied things up with his goal with just :28 to play.

The second period saw the Tigers score three times in the first 3:30 of the quarter. Hudson O’Hanlon had maybe the best of the trio when he carried in from the wing, beat his defender and deeked Mangini as he cut in front of the cage and delivered it low into the back of the net and it was 7-4 Hand. Back came Conard as Brady Cersosimo took a Shaffer pass for a goal and Alver made a strong effort to create space and got off the shot with 5:21 to go to make it a one goal game again.

That would be all the scoring in the half with the visitors walking off with a 7-6 advantage.

Both teams used their speed and strength throughout the first half. It was a very physical half with Hand getting the better of the contact but only managing a one goal lead. “I thought our effort was awesome,” said Cersosimo of his players opening half.

It did not take Conard long to tie things up in the second half. With Hand playing a man down after a cross-checking call, Ben Walsh found Nick Katsaros about 8 yards out from the cage, and the senior made no mistake with his shot. Hand would take the lead back less than a minute later when a bad clear by Conard near their own net led to a change of possession and goal for the Tigers.

Once again it was Conard’s turn to go on the offensive with good pressure and several good scoring chances that either went just wide or were stopped by Albino. With just over 5 minutes to go in the third it was the O’Hanlon brothers teaming up to put the Tigers back in front by two. This time it was Hudson – a sophomore – finding brother PJ with a pass that went from one side of the net to the other and PJ drove it home.

Mangini and Albino turned in big saves again, and at 3:15 it was McGoldrick picking up the loose ball and feeding Shaffer who made it a one-goal deficit for Conard. Each goalie turned in a solid save with Mangini going high to deny Narracci and at the other end Albino denied Alvers and the third ended with the Red Wolves down 9-8.

A light rain began falling halfway through the third and continued into the final 12 minutes. Just 38 seconds in it was Hudson O’Hanlon again creating the scoring chance for Hand when he crashed the cage, splitting two defenders and scoring an apparent goal. It was waved off because he was in the crease, but Hand kept possession as Conard was flagged for a penalty on the play. All the scorer would need to do is change the first name on the scoresheet and PJ O’Hanlon would score up a man to give his team a two-goal lead.

Hand went on a long possession burning time off the clock and playing a patient, game looking for its next goal. Mangini turned in two more great saves, and Conard countered with a Capone goal five minutes in to make it a one-goal game again.

Conard pressed, looking for the tying goal, but fell behind by two again when Hand jarred the ball loose on a big hit and John Healy raced downfield and found PJ O’Hanlon as an option in a 3-on-2 situation. He made no mistake with the shot and with just over half the quarter to go, Hand was back up by two.

The Red Wolves would cut it in half when McGoldrick carried towards the goal, faked a shot, and instead passed to Ben Walsh. He cut towards the goal, took a hit, and fired a shot off one foot as he was going down and beat Albino with 4:30 to play to cut the deficit to just one at 11-10.

Once again it was Mangini and the defense keeping their opponents at bay and turning defense into offense. With only 1:47 to play it was Alver bringing Conard all the way back as he scored to tie the game at 11.

Hand would get possession of the ball and take a timeout with under a minute to play, but the ball in their attacking zone. Coach John Orlando called timeout to draw up the play he wanted to run for a potential winning goal, and the plan worked. Out of the timeout it was Hudson O’Hanlon putting one final dart into the heart of Conard as he scored with just :16 to play.

The Tigers added an insurance goal with 4 seconds to play to close out a 13-11 win.

“We are going to be able to build off this experience,” Matt Cersosimo said after the game. “That’s a damn good team over there.” Conard would send 28 shots on the Hand goal and at the other end Mangini was credited with 13 saves, many of them using his quick reactions. “Brayden had some prime time saves for us tonight,” said his coach.

Conard returns to action on Wednesday at South Windsor, before facing Avon, Northwest Catholic, and East Lyme.

“This game tells the kids they belong. That is a heavy-hitting team and right now we are progressing and this builds confidence,” Cersosimo said.

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