Unionville survives late comeback bid by Owen J. Roberts
EAST MARLBOROUGH >> It certainly wasn’t a textbook way to close out a victory. But after what the Unionville boys’ lacrosse squad has been through already this season, Wednesday’s 10-9 escape against visiting Owen J. Roberts in non-league action was a welcome respite.
Seemingly in total command with three-goal lead and time running out, the Longhorns surrendered three goals to the never-say-die Wildcats in the final 1 minute, 51 seconds of regulation. Luckily, in the midst of it all, senior captain Kevin Carson registered his third goal of the day for Unionville with 95 seconds to go, and it wound up being the game-winner.
“We could have closed it out a little better in the end, but a win is a win,” Carson said. “We won’t complain about that.”
Now 2-2 overall, both of the ’Horns losses have been by a single goal, to Haverford (6-5) and Wilson (7-6). For the trend to end, at Unionville’s home opener, was critical.
“It’s definitely a relief to notch this one after a couple one-goal losses,” said Longhorns’ head coach Steve Holmes. “It’s not that we don’t know how to respond, but you’d rather not be put in that position too many times.”
First-year head coach Kevin Mo is still looking for his initial win at Owen J. Roberts (0-4 overall), but he couldn’t help but be encouraged by the way his team fought to the final whistle.
“The kids never gave up, and that was honestly awesome to be a part of,” he said. “It wasn’t the outcome we were looking for, but they stuck to our fundamentals and core values, and it showed.”
Clinging to a one-goal lead heading into the final period, Unionville got back-to-back goals from junior Owen Kupsey to provide a little breathing room. And when Carson notched his second goal with 2:41 on the clock to make it 9-6, most assumed it was over.
The comeback began, however, when attacker Gabe Dellapenna took a pass from teammate Will Whitlock and scored with less than two minutes remaining. And just 25 seconds after Carson made it 10-7, Brody Calle registered his second goal of the day, followed quickly by another Dellapenna goal to pull the ’Cats to within one with 29 seconds remaining.
“(Owen J. Roberts) made a really nice comeback, and luckily we gave ourselves enough of a buffer to survive it,” Holmes said.
Locked in a tight faceoff battle all afternoon with OJR’s Justin Daubert, the ’Horns’ Connor Bellafiore won the ensuing draw, and Unionville was able to close it out.
“With the last two losses, we got a little more attention out of the boys and maybe this will allow us to make some strides than we would otherwise, feeling good about wins.” Holes said. “That showed in spurts today, but we just have to get better and tighten things up. We have loftier goals.”
A year ago, the Longhorns got the 2022 season off to a shaky start before catching fire late and advancing all the way to the District 1 Semifinal. Holmes is hoping for a more steady build in ’23.
“This is about learning how to learn so we don’t need those hard lessons as much as last season,” he said.
“We want to come out a little faster than we did last season,” Carson added. “We are learning from our mistakes and staying together. Today we possessed the ball better, and the defense stayed together. If anything, they won the game for us.
“It took us some time to settle in. We were antsy to win another game and get our record to .500.”
Dellapenna led all scorers with four goals and Calle added two for Owen J. Roberts, who has played one of the district’s most challenging schedules so far.
“We have played some tough teams, and I did inherit the schedule, but we can’t look back on it now,” Mo said. “If you want to become a good squad, you have to be able to play good teams. It’s only made us stronger – that’s for sure.
“We had a lot of energy heading into this one, so I think that confidence will start to come.”
Carson and Kupsey shared scoring honors with three goals each for the Longhorns, and junior Josiah Hoopman chipped in with two.
“With our confidence a little shaken, practice was a bit rough the past few days, but we were able to bounce back,” Carson explained. “We’ve been working on settling the ball on offense, moving it around and making sure we touch both sides of the field rather than playing iso-ball and taking an early shot.”
Unionville 10, Owen J. Roberts 9
Owen J. Roberts 1 3 1 4 — 9
Unionville 2 2 2 4 — 10
Owen J. Roberts goals: Dellapenna 4, Calle 2, Brown, Whitlock, Daubert.
Unionville goals: Carson 3, O. Kupsey 3, W. Kupsey, Hoopman 2, Clifford.
Goalie saves: Callahan (OJR) 7; Mousaw (U) 4.
