Purcell nets five goals as undefeated Portsmouth holds off St. Thomas in D2 boys lacrosse

PORTSMOUTH – With opponents paying special attention to midfielder Zac Amend, one of the top offensive threats in Division II, someone else has to step up for the Portsmouth High School boys lacrosse team.

That someone Monday night turned out to be junior attack Ben Purcell who scored five goals as the Clippers edged upset-minded St. Thomas Aquinas, 10-9, at Tom Daubney Field.

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“The eyes are focused on Zac and when Benny cuts inside and moves his feet he can be really good,” said Portsmouth coach Chad Vischer. “He’s got good hands on both sides. He’s our next option.”

Portsmouth improved to 8-0, while the Saints dropped to 4-2 with their other loss coming against defending Division II champion Derryfield, 10-7.

“We came out a little flat,” Purcell said. “We weren’t playing our systems at first. I think we were just taking some shots and playing very flustered. I think the key thing for us winning this game was playing our systems and letting the game come to us.”

In addition to five goals Purcell also assisted on a score by Briggs Catino that triggered a three-goal flurry in 48 seconds during the second quarter as Portsmouth rallied from a 4-1 deficit to get back in the game.

“I just like the way our guys competed,” said STA coach Scott Singer. “We’re still working out the kinks and we’re still early in the season but the compete level is there, and we just keep getting better and better.”

Catino finished with two goals and three assists, and scored the eventual game-winner that gave the Clippers a 10-8 lead with 8:59 remaining in the fourth quarter. He also set up Amend’s buzzer-beater to end the third that made it 8-7 and put Portsmouth ahead to stay.

“This game means a lot to us,” Purcell said. “We know a lot of guys on the team. It’s a big rivalry for us and very personal. I think it was just our fire and our want to win that got us back in the game.”

Amend ended up with two goals and two assists. Reilly Collins also scored for the Clippers and goalie Kai Paterson made 11 saves.

“I thought tonight our defense was phenomenal,” Singer said. “I think that’s our younger area on the team overall and I thought they really stepped up and held the fort down.”

Jackson Estes finished with three goals and an assist for St. Thomas and Finley DeTolla added a hat trick. Aiden Morrison had a goal and an assist for the Saints and Mike Ellis also scored. STA’s Eli Allaire helped keep the Saints close with 20 saves.

“They’re a very good, competitive team,” Purcell said. “You can’t sleep on them. I know they’re legit. Their coach knows what he’s doing. I’ve played for him in the past in club (lacrosse). Jackson Estes and Fin DeTolla are really good players. We knew we had to guard them hard to help us get the win, and I think we did that tonight.”

Portsmouth took its first lead on the first possession of the second half on a goal by Amend that made it 6-5.

“Once they got back in the game it was just a constant battle and a game of runs,” Singer said. “I think our guys are legit. We just need to keep working hard and work out our kinks. I think you make two less mistakes and there’s the game right there.”

The Saints scored on their first two possessions of the game and led 3-1 after one quarter with DeTolla scoring twice during that stretch. Estes made it 4-1 with 7:12 left in the first half before the Portsmouth offense finally got untracked thanks to senior midfielder Nick Smith who won three consecutive faceoffs in less than a minute as the Clippers rallied to pull even. Overall, he won 18 of 23 faceoffs.

“I’d say the difference today was our ability to get the faceoffs,” Viscsher said. “When you get that many possessions it’s going to help you.”

“I think our guys are feeling really confident,” Singer said. “We like the trajectory that we’re on. We’re early in the season. “We’ve only played (six) games with not a lot of preseason. We didn’t do any scrimmages so we feel like we’re just getting started here.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Purcell nets five goals as undefeated Portsmouth holds off St. Thomas in D2 boys lacrosse