WATERVILLE — It took longer than expected for the State University of New York-Canton men’s lacrosse team to make its way to Waterville. Then it took much less time for the visitors to start dominating.
SUNY-Canton’s game against Thomas College was supposed to start at 4 p.m. at Thomas, then was moved to 6 p.m. at Colby’s Bill Alfond Field because Thomas’ field is not ready. The Kangaroos were delayed by a traffic accident, but still posted an easy 19-4 victory on Wednesday night.
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The matchup came about because SUNY-Canton found out late that it would be moving to varsity status in men’s lacrosse, and needed to find opponents in the Northeast. The Kangaroos set out for New York after the game, and likely arrived home around 5 this morning.
Getting to Waterville was also a little tricky. The game didn’t start until after 6:30. By 6:40 p.m., Canton led 2-0 and Thomas took its first timeout.
“It’s supposed to be about eight hours,” Canton coach Pat Harrington said. “It was a little longer today. There was a huge accident on (Interstate) 95. It took us about an hour to go about a mile at one point.”
Alex Tibbles, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound sophomore, scored the first five goals of the game as Canton (2-3) led 5-0 after seven minutes. Tibbles finished with eight goals — six of them in the first quarter — and two assists.
Thomas (1-5) was missing freshman midfielder Matt Davis, a Mt. Blue grad who would have helped with his play and by giving Thomas another big body against the physical Kangaroos. Davis was ejected from Saturday’s game against Wheelock and, although Terriers coach Kyle Fleischmann appealed the ruling, Davis still had to sit out the game.
“Not having him really hurts us,” Fleischmann said. “He’s a very talented kid in transition, he’s really talented at the faceoff X, and he can create offense.”
The Kangaroos led 6-2 after one quarter, with Gunnar Shelton and Sean Machin scoring the Thomas goals. The Terriers’ last big spark came when two Canton penalties gave Thomas a 6-on-4 situation. Erik Tiner II quickly scored to get Thomas within 8-3, but Canton regrouped and led 10-3 at halftime. Shelton had the only Thomas goal in the second half.
“We had a rough practice on Monday. We didn’t practice very well,” Fleischmann said. “Then we had a brilliant practice on Tuesday. Then today we came out flat. With a young group, it’s hard to get a constant consistency going as far as the emotions. Along with that, (Canton) played a damn good game.”
“This was the first full, 60-minute game we’ve put together,” Harrington said. “Hopefully, this gives us a little confidence, and keeps us moving in the right direction.”
There were still some bright spots for the Terriers, including the play of goalkeeper Jesse Morkeski. Thomas begins its North Atlantic Conference schedule March 31, with a home game against Maine Maritime Academy. The Terriers were 4-3 in the NAC last spring.
“Last year, we went into conference play 0-5, very green, and I didn’t know what to expect,” Fleischmann said. “I know what to expect this year. I think we can finish out conference play winning some games. I think we can turn it around in conference play, just like we did last year.”
Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243
mdifilippo@centralmaine.com
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