Lawrence midfielder Noah Lambert, left, and goalie Wyatt Poulin stop Cony’s Jack Morrill on Tuesday in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal Buy this Photo
AUGUSTA — In a normal year, with a 5-7 record, the Cony boys lacrosse team would be on the outside looking in at the Class B playoffs.
This, however, isn’t a normal season. And the Rams are confident they will be able to take advantage.
Showcasing a potent offense led by Isaac Beloff, Casey Mills and Jack Morrill, Cony defeated Lawrence Tuesday afternoon 26-10 at Alumni Field.
Mills led the way with eight goals, while Beloff — whose fourth tally broke the school single-season record of 56 goals — and Morrill had seven each. Lawrence (3-9) was led by five goals from Kristian Larouche and three from Adrian O’Connell.
The Bulldogs had no answers for the Rams, who scored 10 goals in the first quarter, 11 in the second and were slowed only by the game’s second-half switch to running time. According to Cony coach Kyle Gleason, as that attack has picked up, the Rams have turned into a team playing at a higher level than their record indicates — and one that can cash in on the open tournament that is in play this season.
Cony’s Isaac Beloff twists through the Lawrence defense on his way to scoring a goal Tuesday in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal Buy this Photo
“Compared to the beginning of the season we’ve definitely gotten a lot better, definitely progressed,” said Gleason, who’s in his first year with the program after coaching as an assistant at Messalonskee. “We’re definitely looking at the playoffs a lot more confidently.”
His players have had the same takeaway, particularly as the season has gone on and players have adjusted to new roles.
“I think we need everyone on our team. We all have a part we need to play,” said Morrill, a junior and transfer from Kents Hill. “I think we’re ready to go. I think with our new coach, he has a really positive attitude. He came in guns a-blazing, ready to show us how to play. It clearly shows.”
Some of those adjustments have occurred in that high-octane attacking group. Only Mills began the season up front; Beloff and Morrill moved up from midfield and have given the team a jolt.
“It’s worked great,” said Gleason, who also got goals from Brodi Freeman, Caleb Vose, Nick Geneseo and Duncan Hayes. “It’s been pretty dynamic with them back there. It’s pretty hard for defenses to match up, all three attack the middle pretty good.”
That was the case Tuesday, as Mills and Beloff had all of their goals in the first half.
Cony’s Isaac Beloff tries to get past Lawrence’s Dylan Coombs on Tuesday in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal Buy this Photo
“We had a brutal game defensively today, period,” said Lawrence coach Dan Brannigan, who also got goals from Noah Lambert and Zach Denis. “Isaac Beloff’s a great player, I remember him from a few years ago. He’s a talented kid, and I knew he was going to be an issue. But I was also worried about Mills, and I know Mills can play. So it was just kind of pick your poison.”
The Bulldogs will also be going to the postseason, where Brannigan is eager to see how his team fares.
“It’s just strategy stuff. Our clears still need work, our offense still needs work,” Brannigan said. “We’ve come a long way from where we were at the beginning of the season. At the beginning of the season, not a lot looked right. But this team has grown. … We’ve got a great team. We have a lot of heart. The problem is just numbers. When you have 14 guys and you’re going against 20-, 25-man teams, they just run you down.”
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