The defense that helped Colonie win two of its first three games was nowhere to be found in the second quarter of its game against Shenendehowa last Friday.
The Plainsmen (3-0 league, 6-0 overall) scored six times in the second stanza on their way to a 14-2 victory over the Garnet Raiders in a Suburban Council boys lacrosse game.
They just have too many weapons, said Colonie coach Michael Joyce.
The Garnet Raiders (0-3, 2-3) hadn’t allowed an opponent to score more than seven goals in a game before they ran into the red-hot Plainsmen. But by halftime, Shen had an 8-1 lead ` thanks to its six-goal outburst.
Meanwhile, Colonie’s offense continued to struggle. Only a pair of Chris Cusack goals ` one in the second quarter, and the other in the fourth quarter ` prevented Shen from recording a shutout.
`We don’t have any outside shooters on this team, and we don’t really have a go-to dodger that can score from behind the net,` said Joyce. `We try to pass the ball around and find some open shots that way, but we need to create [some shots].`
Connor Arnold led Shen’s attack with five goals. Michael Jenkins had two goals and five assists, while Tim Coli tallied once and assisted on three other goals.
The Shen loss came two days after Colonie suffered a 6-5 setback against Bethlehem last Wednesday.
The game was a back-and-forth affair, with Steve Russo’s fourth-quarter tally being the deciding goal for the Eagles (2-0, 3-1).
Eric Halek scored twice, and Mike Rondinaro added a goal and four assists for Bethlehem. Cameron Signorelli led Colonie with two goals, and Tom Clark contributed three assists.
Colonie’s schedule didn’t get any easier Tuesday when it hosted defending league champion Niskayuna in its only meeting with the statewide power.
`Hopefully by the end of the season, we’ll be able to pull off a couple of upsets and see what happens from there,` said Joyce. `We’ve got to rely on our defense right now, and hopefully our younger guys will pick it up [on offense].`
Meanwhile, Shen received a bigger challenge Monday when it faced Christian Brothers Academy in a non-league game. The Plainsmen needed three fourth-quarter goals to pull out a 4-3 victory over the Brothers (1-0, 3-2).
Goaltenders Shane Hans (CBA) and Bobby Wardwell (Shen) each had 12 saves for their respective teams. Arnold and Joe Gaug both tallied twice for the Plainsmen, while Carter Sherman recorded a pair of goals for the Brothers.
CBA entered its game against Shen off a 9-2 Big 10 victory over Troy last Thursday. The Brothers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on their way to the win.
Andrew Jensen led a balanced CBA attack with three goals and an assist. Sherman, Zach Baron, Casey Miller, Greg Medici, Patrick Risler and Schuyler Warrenchak also tallied.
The Brothers returned to action Tuesday when they hosted Amsterdam in a Big 10 game.“
