DANVERS — For many of the spring, St. John’s Prep lacrosse standout Jake Vana had a litany of nagging accidents, struggling to get again to the extent he’s accustomed to taking part in at.
Unfortunately for opposing Div. 1 faculties, it seems the junior is nearly absolutely again. Vana sniped 4 targets and added an help Saturday as St. John’s Prep closed its spectacular common season with an important 12-9 win over Hingham.
“It worked out perfectly,” mentioned Vana. “Didn’t come back as healthy as I wanted to. I was in a lot of pain and I was trying to fight through it. But the last couple of days was probably the first time I’ve felt like myself again. This is the first game I’ve played an entire game without any pain. It seems to be going away just at the right time, knock on wood.”
Entering Saturday’s tilt, St. John’s Prep (17-1) was listed as the highest workforce general within the MIAA’s newest Div. 1 energy rankings, whereas Hingham (17-2) was slotted fifth, an ideal check for each packages forward of the state event. Early on, the sport performed out like a championship bout with the faculties buying and selling targets. Hingham’s Connor Lasch sniped a tally with 4:51 to play within the second quarter, knotting issues at 4-4.
But within the waning moments of the second quarter, Vana tallied his second aim to make it 5-4 with 15 ticks remaining. The Eagles proceeded to win the following face-off, then known as a timeout. As the ultimate seconds bled off the clock, Jimmy Ayers reared again and uncorked a missile, which whistled proper into the nook of the Hingham cage on the horn. In a flash, St. John’s Prep had seized a 6-4 lead on the break, a sequence which proved very important.
“I think the coaches were talking about it,” Vana mentioned. “We weren’t playing our best offense, especially in the first or second quarter. But then, the momentum we got, that was kind of a heartbreaker for them because they were in it. They probably had the chance to take the lead a couple of times. Those two goals honestly gave us the momentum boost, and the confidence we needed going into the second half.”
Hingham’s Charlie Packard executed an impressive wraparound aim to slice the deficit to 9-8 early within the ultimate body, however that was as shut because the Harbormen may get.
With 5:34 to play, Vana compelled a turnover, deked his technique to the online and buried his fourth aim, icing the victory for the Eagles.
In addition to Vana, St. John’s Prep was led by Ayers (two targets, help) and Rowan Mondello (two targets).
Packard carried Hingham with 4 targets on the day.
“(John Todd’s) an amazing coach,” mentioned St. John’s Prep coach John Pynchon. “It was just a really good, late season high school lacrosse game in the state, and there’s a good chance we see them in a couple of weeks. Got to get back to work, stuff we’ve got to work on.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com