Jack Rideout (pictured) wins a first quarter face-off and scouts the scenery. Photo by Mike Flanagan.
By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Arch rivals Belmont Hill and St. Sebastian’s capped off the 2021 ISL lacrosse season with a bang last Wednesday afternoon. Coming off their first defeat of the season on Saturday to arguably the top team in the country, Deerfield Academy (14-8), Belmont Hill looked to rebound. To do so, Belmont would have to make history in defeating Seb’s for the third time in 2021, a feat that entering Wednesday had never been accomplished in the rivalry’s history.
In the early going, it appeared as if Belmont was going to run away with a win. Just 43 seconds in, Connor Monahan found a cutting Liam Horkan wide open in front for an easy dump-in goal to draw first blood. The goal by Horkan sparked an 8-1 run by Belmont to open the game, with goals coming from Charlie Cave (Brown-committed), Eli Goldstein, Adam Figler, Braden Reilly, Brooks Rayment (Colby), Trey Brown (Boston University) and Horkan again, forcing Seb’s to a timeout.
“We knew it was too good to be true,” said Brown following the game. “To get up 8-1, there is too much talent and pride over there for them to just let us run away with it. We knew they were going to punch back and not roll over.”
Following the timeout, Seb’s climbed their way back into the game with a 5-0 run. Aidan Maguire (Duke) got the run started with a shot from the center of the box to make it 8-2. Off the ensuing face-off win, Jack Rideout (Michigan) flew in and fired a shot on cage that was saved by Belmont goalie Michael Marinello (St. Lawrence). On the play, Rideout took an absolutely thundering check from Belmont’s Grant Litchfield (Lehigh), drawing a one-minute man-up for the Arrows. Seb’s immediately cashed in on the ensuing man-up as Maguire shot home his second of the day to make it 8-3. Following back-to-back saves by Seb’s goalie Ryan Williamson, the Arrows cut the deficit to four thanks to a nifty little backhanded shovel goal on a drive out from X by Tommy Armstrong (Bucknell). Just 1:09 later, Tim Browne (Michigan) found room and unleashed a perfect leaping righty cannon up high to trim the deficit down to 8-5 and force Belmont to take a timeout.
Following the break, Seb’s offense went right back to work as Maguire found a cutting Tim Blue (Skidmore) who bounced home a goal up high to make it 8-6 at halftime.
Reilly won a battle for a loose ball in the opening minutes of the second half, cut his way inside between three Seb’s defenders and dumped home the response goal to end the 5-0 run by the Arrows, pushing Belmont’s lead back to three at 9-6. However, Seb’s would not go away quietly as back-to-back goals off of transition by Blue and LSM PJ McKeigue (UPenn) brought the Arrows back to within one at 9-8 with three minutes to play in the third quarter. With 13 seconds to play in the quarter, Reilly found Figler in front for an easy dump-in as Belmont took a 10-8 lead into the fourth.
Figler’s goal at the tail end of the third sparked a 4-0 run by Belmont to close out the game. Liam Horkan completed the hat trick on a feed from Figler off transition to make it 11-8 before Figler cut out from X and deposited home a shot down low to make it 12-8. Horkan would add some insurance with his fourth of the day after beating his man from X and firing home a left shot up high from an odd angle. A series of saves by Marinello in the game’s final moments prevented any type of Seb’s comeback as Belmont prevailed 13-8 to complete the 3-0 season sweep of the Arrows.
“This is exactly what we wanted for our kids,” said Belmont head coach Tim Sullivan following the win. “It’s been a crazy year and these kids have put in so much work. To come out today and play a competitive game against a rival like Seb’s in front of a crowd like this, it’s all we could have asked for with our seniors to go out like this.”
Meanwhile, on the other side, senior attack-man Tommy Armstrong credited his group for responding the way they did. Armstrong gave props to Belmont, but says the three losses in 2021 will not be forgotten by his teammates returning next season. In fact, motivation to reclaim ISL supremacy intensified after Wednesday.
“Today was one of the most electric atmospheres I’ve ever played in,” said Armstrong. “I’m proud of all our guys who never let up and worked our tails off to get back into that game. This team never quits. Tip fo the cap to Belmont Hill. They were a deep team who executed every time we saw them this year. The Arrows will be back.”
For funny and incisive sports analysis as well as video highlights of games, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram handles @flano0.
