Algonquin Pulls Away from Grafton

By Andrew Bowman (@andrew_bowman5)

Grafton, Mass. - A second half surge by Algonquin lifted the visiting Tomahawks over the Grafton Indians. Led by 5 goals from junior Dom Russo, and 4 from sophomore Noah Larsen, Algonquin defeated Grafton 15-7.

Grafton started the game strong, as sophomore Jack Gurney scored a pair of goals to give the Indians an early 4-1 lead. After an Algonquin timeout, Dom Russo and Noah Larsen gave the Tomahawks life, but Tyler Hart added one more for Grafton, and it was 5-3 after the first quarter.

The second quarter was a different story, however. Russo added three more goals for the Tomahawks in the second, as Algonquin outscored Grafton 5-1 in the period. A combination of turnovers and solid defense from Algonquin contributed to Grafton’s ineffectiveness on offense.

At the half, the visiting T-Hawks were up 8-6.

After half, it was all Algonquin. Ric Carraras opened the second half scoring with a behind-the-back goal, which was followed by an explosion on the Algonquin sideline. After that, it was Noah Larsen for the Tomahawks, who scored a hat-trick in 3 minute. Then Dom Russo added his fifth and Ric Carraras scored his third, as Algonquin ended the third quarter with a 15-7, which ended up being the final score.

The Tomahawks picked apart the inexperienced Grafton defense, as Matt Nicalek’s seven saves were not enough to stop Algonquin from putting up a hefty 15 goals.

“The offensive guys have great stick skills and their lacrosse IQs are off the charts,” Algonquin head coach Matt Nofsinger said after the game. “I can’t say enough about [the Larsens'] play, and [Dom Russo] is just a beast, he’s just racking up the points this season. They’re just so reliable.”

A big part of Algonquin’s success came after adjustments to their face-off play. Grafton dominated the face-off X early, but the Tomahawks rotated players in and found success late in the second quarter, which continued into the second half.

“We were having trouble at center X, with wing play, and getting ground balls,” Coach Nofsinger mentioned about his team’s early struggles. “We made some adjustments and were able to get more success at center X. That’s when our offense really started to grind it out, once we had more possessions.”

It was a big non-conference win for Algonquin, they’re first against powerful Grafton under Coach Nofsinger.

“I’m very happy with the team’s performance and am very encouraged about the next game and working with this group.”

Algonquin improves to 3-2, and will look to continue its success against Westborough on Tuesday. Grafton falls to 3-3, and will look to bounce back against Worcester on Tuesday.