Fox Lane Laxmens' game went slip sliding away on rain-soaked field

Tyler Davidson struggles to  get past a Briarcliff/Croton defender. Earlier in the week he had an easier time against Carmel, scoring four goals. JIM MACLEAN PHOTOS

By JIM MACLEAN 

Everything had been going well for the Fox Lane boys varsity lacrosse team, the Foxes were on a roll winning four of their last five games, and they jumped out to an early 3-0 lead as they hosted Briarcliff/Croton on May 9.

However, on a wet rainy day, the Foxes let it slip away, not once but twice, as the Bearcats rallied back and handed Fox Lane a 9-7 defeat.

With the loss Fox Lane fell to 5-9 overall on the season with two games left on the regular season schedule.

“This could have been better, we’ve been playing well, on a roll, battling back against Nyack and Carmel, both league games and we were down and battled back,” Fox Lane coach Charlie Rice said after the loss. “Obviously, today was a little different, we had the lead, and we kind of overlooked them. We didn’t play clean, turned the ball over, execution just wasn’t there, and turnovers killed us in the fourth. To have a lead and let it slip away, it’s tough.”

It all looked well at the start as Fox Lane jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, only to see Briarcliff/Croton respond in the second quarter with three-straight goals to tie it up at 3-3 at halftime. The Bearcats carried the momentum over into the second half and took a 4-3 lead, but Fox Lane responded with Drew Nathan scoring three-straight goals to give the Foxes a 6-4 lead.

Drew Nathan scored three straight goals against Briarcliff/Croton to bring Fox Lane into the lead, but the Wildcats  recaptured it with a five-goal surge.

It didn’t last long as the Bearcats reeled off five-straight goals to take a 9-6 lead in the fourth. Fox Lane tried to rally, but came up short as the Bearcats held on for the 9-7 victory.

A disappointing ending to a good week for Fox Lane as the Foxes had defeated Hen Hud on the road Thursday by the score of 12-2, and scored a big win at home on Wednesday as the Foxes rallied back for an 11-10 win over Carmel. Prior to that win, the Foxes had another thrilling one-goal win on the road at Nyack, coming from behind for an 8-7 victory.

Davidson stars vs. Carmel

Against Carmel, it was Tyler Davidson with the big game as he finished with four goals, including the game-winning goal. Sam Randol had a four-point game with two goals and two assists. Nathan and Ryan Hardie each scored a pair of goals. Sean Fabry had a goal and an assist, while Justin Cohen had an assist.

Goalie Luke Valenti had a big game, coming up with 25 saves overall and also registering an assist.

“Carmel game was great, the opposite of today,” admitted Rice. “We were down five in the first quarter and came back to score five-straight to tie it up at the half. It was back-and-forth after that. We played really well, riding, clearing, and ground balls, we got a lot of them and that was the difference in that game.”

In the win on the road over Hen Hud, it was Nathan with the big game as he scored seven goals in the first half and finished with eight goals overall to lead the Foxes to the 12-2 victory. It was 10-2 at the half as Nathan and the Foxes dominated. Fabry scored a pair of goals for the Foxes, and Hardie added a goal and three assists. Esty Quijada scored a goal with six seconds left in the first half to put the Foxes up 10-2.

Fox Lane had two games left on the regular season schedule as the Foxes were set to host Brewster on May 13, and then travel to Monroe-Woodbury on Tuesday, May 19, before the start of the postseason.