Nation Ford girls’ lacrosse team falters in second half of season opener

If the JL Mann Patriots were looking for revenge, they got it as they opened the 2017 girls’ lacrosse season with a win over the Nation Ford Falcons 11-4.

The last time JL Mann and Nation Ford faced off, the Falcons pulled a shocker by beating the Patriots for the Upper State championship. That was last season. The Patriots had revenge on their mind coming to town last week and scored six unanswered second-half goals in the win.

“We knew it was going to be tough,” said Falcons’ head coach Tom McNeil.

“We expected a tough fight. There is some stuff we have to work on. Now we know how high we have to go. We want the girls to rise to the occasion and I think they can.”

JL Mann controlled possession for most of the first five minutes of the game, getting off several shots on goal, but goalie April Clift and the rest of the Falcons’ defense were able to keep the net empty. When it did have possession, Nation Ford struggled to hold on to the ball. With constant pressure on the defense, JL Mann broke through first scoring at the 17:20 mark into the game.

Nation Ford finally found some offense as things started clicking for the Falcons with Sam McNeil scoring for the home squad to tie things up at 1-1. McNeil gave Nation Ford the lead about 90 seconds later scoring her second goal of the game after the Falcons were able to win the face-off.

The Falcons played keep away toward the end of the first half controlling possession, but biding their time to wait for a good shot. They never found that opening and ended up turning the bill over to the Patriots. JL Mann took advantage of the turnover and scored with 4:29 left in the first half to tie the match at 4-4. The Patriots added another goal before the half.

Nation Ford struggled to hold onto possession for much of the early going in the second half, as JL Mann took advantage of the time of possession offensively. The Falcons struggled to get any shots off due to the lack of possession for most of the second half.

Turning point

The Patriots scored 36 seconds into the second half to give them a two goal lead and continued controlling possession for the majority of the first five minutes of the second half. With the ability to control possession, the Patriots were able to add to their lead with about 11 minutes left in the game to make it a three-goal advantage and put the game out of reach in the final 10 minutes after scoring three more goals.

Critical

Nation Ford was able to answer JL Mann goal for goal early on in the contest, which eventually led to the Falcons getting the upper hand. However, that didn't last long as the Patriots scored the last three goals of the first half giving them the advantage heading into the break.

Star contributions

McNeil scored twice for Nation Ford. The Falcons also had goals coming from Tori Bobrowski and Kelsey Gleason.

On deck

Nation Ford plays again Thursday at home against South Meck at 5:30.

This story was originally published February 25, 2017 at 7:46 PM with the headline "Nation Ford girls’ lacrosse team falters in second half of season opener."