BY GENE DELORENZO
BRANDON — In boys lacrosse action, Mt. Abraham completed a sweep of their season series versus Otter Valley with a 15-10 win at Markowski field in Brandon on Wednesday, May 11. Mt. Abraham had defeated Otter Valley 11-8 earlier in the season.
The first period showed the Otter’s immense improvement over the past month as they held their own against an impressive Mt. Abe team. Early goals by Evan Thomas and Hayden Bernhardt had given the Otters a 2-1 lead with just under a minute to play in the first period.
Mt. Abe, however, would score two goals in the final 30 seconds of play in that period to claim the lead. Those two late goals would swing the momentum to Mt. Abe and they would go on to score 8 consecutive goals to expand their lead to 10-3 at halftime.
The second half played out evenly, with OV actually posting a 7-5 scoring advantage. But the damage of the second period would set the tone for the day.
For Otter Valley, Evan Thomas had a great day with five goals. Hayden Bernhardt would add two, along with Matthew Moseley scoring twice. Nick Parker also added a goal.
For Mount Abe, Sawyer Shephard scored four, Noah Landau added two, and Chase Atkins, Finley Kaeck, Jonah Howell, Andrew Nolan and Sam Mangini scored one apiece.
OV’s Ben Marks had another outstanding day in the face-off circle, winning 16 of 27 (59%). Danny O’Brien again excelled in goal with 16 saves. Mt. Abe won the ground ball battle, 33-25. Mt. Abe committed but 13 turnovers, while Otter Valley turned it over 20 times. Mt. Abe outshot the home team 41-31.
Otter Valley hosted BFA Fairfax in a re-match on Saturday. Check our scoreboard section to read the final score of that contest.