SOUTH YARMOUTH – A little rusty at the outset, the Dennis-Yarmouth boys’ lacrosse team nevertheless opened the season with an 8-2 win over visiting Plymouth North Tuesday afternoon.
Andrew Jamiel’s hat trick paced the Dennis-Yarmouth offense on the day.
Dennis-Yarmouth’s Andrew Jamiel netted three goals in the Dolphins’ season-opener yesterday, an 8-2 win over Plymouth North at Allen Carlsen Field.
Phil Garceau photo for Capecod.com Sports
Relegated to mainly indoor practices and workouts the past few weeks — like most New England high school sports teams at every level — the host Dolphins certainly showed the symptoms of a team that had yet to find its sea legs.
Still, the Dolphin laxmen shook off the cobwebs and early-game miscues and a plague of off-target passes to build a 3-1 lead after the opening half. In the third quarter, Dennis-Yarmouth opened its sails fully.
An early third-quarter goal from the Eagles cut the Dolphins’ halftime lead to 3-2, but the Dolphins scored five unanswered goals to close out the stanza, paving the way for an 8-2 victory over their non-league opponent.
“I thought we got the kinks out and shook off the cobwebs in that first half and that third quarter, it was our best quarter yet,” Dolphin coach JoJo Jamiel said after the game.
In the breakout third quarter, the Dolphins capitalized on a handful of Eagles’ turnovers and opened up the field with solid offensive chemistry.
After an Andrew Jamiel goal gave D-Y a 4-2 lead, Tom Slovak stole a bad pass in the attacking zone for a goal, followed quickly by a goal from Justin Servidori moments after the Dolphins killed off a one-minute man advantage.
Jack Conway and Slovak added goals before the end of the quarter, as the Dolphins took an 8-2 lead into the break.
“We had good shot sections in the first half, we hit a couple of posts and just missed a few, so I told them not to get greedy and settle for bad shots,” Coach Jamiel said. “I thought off the ball, we moved really well, so guys who didn’t have the ball were cutting a lot better in that third quarter, and that turned into goals.”
Dennis-Yarmouth’s Ian Crosby gets through a Plymouth North double-team in yesterday’s Dolphin victory at home.
Phil Garceau Photo for Capecod.com Sports
The momentum swing may have come late in the first half, as the Dolphins were nursing a 2-1 lead. In the waning seconds of the half, Ian Crosby sent a pass to Kevin Reid in front of the goalie crease, and he finished off the pass for a 3-1 halftime lead.
While the Dolphins offense struggled in the opening half, Sean McNamara kept the Dolphins lead intact with a handful of big saves, until D-Y found its rhythm in the second half.
Jamiel (three goals) and Crosby (two assists) established themselves as the quarterbacks of the Dolphin offense as the game wore on, as they were critical in both the transition game and setting up the offense in the attacking zone. With a large lead in hand in the final quarter, both played big roles in orchestrating long possessions to kill off time.
“They are no secret in our league, Ian has unbelievable stick skills and he’s sound fundamentally and Andrew relies on his athleticism, and they did a great job of finding each other,” Jamiel said.
Starting off the season with a victory is a big step for the Dolphins, who are looking to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
“We had a couple games last year that were close in the beginning that we couldn’t came away with,” Jamiel explained. “We feel like every game on our schedule is winnable so, it was good to get in the win column, but all we are focused on now is the Vineyard on Saturday.”
— Freelance sportswriter Phil Garceau and Capecod.com sports editor Sean Walsh contributed to this story.
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