The Shaker boys lacrosse team is using its defense to pull out wins this season.
Following a 13-7 loss to Guilderland last Monday, the Blue Bison responded with Suburban Council victories over Shenendehowa and Colonie to even their league record at 2-2 (3-2 overall).
Shaker handed Shen (3-1, 4-1) its first loss of the season last Wednesday with a 6-3 victory in Clifton Park. The Plainsmen scored all of their goals in the first quarter before the Blue Bison shut them down with strong defense and solid goaltending from Kenny O’Connor, who finished with 10 saves.
Jimmy O’Brien led Shaker’s comeback with a pair of goals. Luke Walsh and Joe Shields each contributed a goal and two assists, while Ryan Phillips and Brian Seniw added goals.
Michael Daly tallied twice for Shen, and goaltender Bobby Wardwell stopped five shots.
Shaker needed another come-from-behind effort to defeat Colonie 6-4 last Friday. The Blue Bison scored three goals in the third quarter to overcome a 3-2 halftime deficit.
O’Brien once again led the charge for Shaker with a pair of goals. Phillips recorded a goal and two assists, while Parker Armsby contributed a goal and an assist. O’Connor stopped seven of the 11 shots he faced.
Garrett Dollard tallied twice for Colonie (2-2, 4-2), and goaltender Matt Hamilton stopped 10 shots.
The Garnet Raiders entered the Shaker game on a two-game winning streak after beating Ballston Spa 12-5 last Monday and Queensbury 8-4 last Wednesday. Dollard had a hat trick in the Queensbury game, and Hamilton stopped 15 of the 19 shots he faced. Jon Charton added two goals and an assist.
Colonie returned to action Tuesday when it traveled to Bethlehem for a Suburban Council Gold Division game, while Shaker hosted Saratoga Springs in a Blue Division contest.
In other boys lacrosse action last week, Christian Brothers Academy remained undefeated with a 10-9 overtime victory over Holy Trinity from Long Island Saturday at Siena College.
Zach Baron scored midway through the second overtime period to give the Brothers (1-0, 5-0) the victory. Baron finished with two goals, while Andrew Vivian and Dan Sipperly each recorded hat tricks. Vivian also had two assists.
Terrance Barclay netted three goals and added an assist for Holy Trinity.
CBA entered its match-up with Holy Trinity off an impressive 13-8 Big 10 win against Schenectady last Tuesday. The Brothers outscored the Patriots (2-1, 4-3) 13-4 over the first three quarters before cruising to the five-goal win.
Sipperly and Baron each scored five goals, and Vivian added two goals and six assists for CBA. Goaltender Shane Hans had 13 saves.
The Brothers are off until Thursday when they travel to LaSalle for a Big 10 contest.`