By Mike Kelly
(May 8, 2022) — The defending 2021 Shoreline Conference Champion HK Cougars Boys lacrosse team defeated out-of-conference foe North Haven Saturday afternoon 4-2, pushing their season record to an impressive 10-1. As evident by the final score, the game was a defensive grind, with both teams unwilling to allow anything easy.
North Haven scored first, taking the 1-0 advantage. The Cougars answered quickly, however. Middie Nolan Braren found attackman Cory Phipps open above the right post for the stepdown, 1-1. From that point forward there would be little scoring from either side for more than a quarter, as defenses dug in on both sides. HK’s LSM Jack Insalaco had a monster game, seemingly everywhere on the field the entire day—hoovering up loose balls and picking off lazy passes.
The Cougars finally broke the ice late in the third, when attackman Aaron McLeod grabbed a rebound off the right post and fired it home, 2-1 HK. Midway through the fourth quarter Alex Phipps did some work on his own, shaking his defender with a silky dodge and spin from above the right crease for the strike, 3-1 HK. The goal would prove timely, as a few minutes later North Haven scored during a man-up situation to inch closer, 3-2 HK. With time winding down, the Cougars defense came through in the clutch, as they have all season long. D-pole Sam Young scooped up a loose ball, took it coast-to-coast, and found C. Phipps open for the score, 4-2 HK. Old Saybrook awaits.
Photos by Liz Griswold
