Marysville’s Ben Alessi (8) sprints past Hilliard Darby defenseman Mitchell Morris (9) during the first half of action. The Monarch notched two goals in the loss to the Panthers.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
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Marysville’s boys lacrosse squad experienced another setback, dropping a 16-4 verdict to Hilliard Darby.
The Monarchs are in the midst of a three-game skid following their most recent losses to Strongsville (16-7) and Thomas Worthington (14-4).
Darby’s Connor Burke scored the first goal of the contest in the initial minutes of the opening quarter.
At the 8:24 mark, Julian Kennedy equaled the scoreboard at 1-1 with a goal.
Darby regained the lead at 3-1 with two goals from Landon Whalen.
Marysville’s Ben Alessi cut the deficit at the 5:23 mark as the Monarchs trailed 3-2.
“In the first quarter, specifically, I thought we got off to a pretty good start,” MHS head coach Chris Alessi said. “We played a great opponent in Darby, but we have some things we need to figure out.”
The Panthers stayed aggressive on the offensive end of the field.
They took a 5-2 spread after goals from Nick King and Whalen.
Leading by three at the start of the second period, Whalen delivered an assist to Burke, which prompted a timeout by Marysville.
The short break led to another Marysville score at the 8:17 mark.
Jamey Best dished an assist to Ben Alessi, putting the MHS deficit at 6-3.
Darby continued to take advantage of gaps in Marysville’s defense and tallied three more goals for a 9-3 halftime lead.
“We made a couple adjustments,” Alessi said about the halftime conversation. “We struggled today in clearing turnovers… we tried to put two poles on the wings.”
The Panthers never looked back and scored seven goals during the second half.
Kennedy put the Monarchs’ lone score in the net during the second half.
Marysville goalie Sean McGee came away with five saves on 38 shots from opposing players.
Marysville’s junior varsity also fell short in topping Darby by a 6-5 count.
Nicolas Cavinee and Alex Seibers both claimed two goals, while Landon Wimmers scored one.
Garrett McHenry recorded one assist.
Maddox Barker and Saxton Bond combined for 10 saves while facing 22 shots.
Marysville’s varsity squad fell to 4-5 overall with a 1-2 record in the Ohio Capital Conference.
The Monarchs will be back on the field Saturday at Newark (6 p.m.)
“We know what we can do,” Coach Alessi. “We are playing well, but we just need to be on the same page.”