Jun. 13—After nearly an hour of white-knuckle lacrosse in which Newburyport and Triton gave each other all they could handle, Kennedy Heath’s game-winner two minutes into overtime proved the difference as Newburyport won 8-7 to clinch the CAL Kinney title.
Heath’s winner capped off an outstanding team performance by Newburyport, which was able to hold the dangerous Triton offense at bay thanks in large part to Colin McLoy’s dominant 19 for 20 performance on faceoffs and due to brilliant defensive showings by fellow sophomore Jack Hadden and by goalie Ryan Portalla (12 saves).
Offensively Ryan Cottone was the star of the show for Newburyport, playing a role in six of the Clippers’ eight goals after scoring four goals with two assists. Oliver Pons also enjoyed a career performance with two goals and an assist, Christian Kinsey had the team’s other regulation goal and Zach Lever tallied an assist.
The main order of the day for the Clippers, however, was finding a way to slow down James Tatro and Jared Leonard. The two Triton stars are tied for the area lead with 46 goals each, but on Saturday the Clippers managed to hold them to three and two goals respectively. Thomas Cahill and Carson Purcell added a goal each as well and C.J. Howland and Leonard both had two assists.
With the win Newburyport is now 10-1 and will wrap up the regular season on Monday with a home game against North Reading. Triton finishes the season 10-2 and now awaits its first round state tournament opponent.
***
Newburyport 8, Triton 7 (OT)
Goals: N — Ryan Cottone 4, Oliver Pons 2, Christian Kinsey, Kennedy Heath; T — James Tatro 3, Jared Leonard 2, Thomas Cahill, Carson Purcell
Assists: N — Cottone 2, Zach Lever, Pons; T — C.J. Howland 2, Leonard 2
Saves: N — Ryan Portalla 12; T — Jared Graf 7