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BG foils Pinkerton's game plan

Thursday, June, 05 By Ryan Lambert
Staff writer

Pinkerton had a very specific plan to combat Bishop Guertin's high-flying attack: outscore the Cardinals.

That didn't happen.

Pinkerton was held scoreless in the first quarter and scored only once in the third quarter of the Division 1 state final and Bishop Guertin cruised to a 14-11 win.

Though this was the fourth time in the last six years that the Astros have made the final, they have won the title only once in that span. The unbeaten Cardinals, meanwhile, won their second in four years, both times over the Astros.

"I'm not shocked at the 14 goals they scored," said Pinkerton coach Brian O'Reilly, who has won nine state titles since the sport gained varsity status in 1994. "I mean, I would have liked a little less than 14, but we were intending to try and outscore them."

Pinkerton only trailed 2-0 after a surprisingly low-scoring first 12 minutes. Both clubs erupted for six goals in a wild second quarter. The third was what doomed the Astros. The Cardinals outscored Pinkerton 4-1 in the third, when the Astros looked especially punchless.

"That's obviously the difference-maker," said O'Reilly. "That was a little disconcerting for us. I thought we survived the first quarter without any offense, played a great second quarter, and we did just come out flat in the third quarter."

The damp conditions certainly didn't help as the game wore on.

"I think maybe the rain was a factor, a little bit," said Bobby Dattilo, who scored and had a pair of assists. "The pockets were a little deep, and we had a lot of bounce shots that just hit too close to the net and just bounced over it."

The Astros made it interesting late in the game, holding BG to just two goals and scoring four of their own, but the hole they had dug for themselves was simply too deep. It also didn't help that Pinkerton had trouble hitting the net at times.

"We had our moments in the fourth quarter, but we just threw the ball away for a number of possessions before we got a little flurry in there," said O'Reilly. "It's more that we couldn't get a lead on them and hold a lead. We were always coming from behind."

Brian Estes scored six goals for the Astros. But Dattilo and Teagan Norris were the only others with more than one point.

"That's a good game out of Brian, absolutely," said O'Reilly of the junior midfielder. "I thought we had a lot of kids play well tonight. I'm proud of the way our team played. They pushed right to the very end and gave what they could."

O'Reilly's plan to shoot early and often was well-executed, but Pinkerton often had difficulty solving BG keeper Brent Lyskawa of Londonderry.

"I mean, we wanted to get 40 shots on net," said Dattilo. "That's what coach asked for. Their goalie made 20 saves, and half of them I think we shot at him, and he didn't really make the save. That part was our fault. If we got those shots anywhere but besides his stick or his body, it would have changed the game, you know?"