Over the weekend, the varsity boys lacrosse team headed for Boston to play in the annual Junior New England Lacrosse Championships. This is the fifth year IMS has gone to the tournament, and, this year, it was hosted by the Fay School. The team left on Friday afternoon and drove to Framingham, Massachusetts, where they had dinner and settled in for the night. The next morning, IMS players rose at 6:30 and were on the road to Fay by 8:00 am. After arriving at the Fay campus, the Falcons settled into a relaxed and productive warm-up at the sports complex.

Indian Mountain players and coaches felt good going into the day of games. They had been playing well and coming together as a team, both on offense and on defense. Unfortunately, IMS earned the worst draw of the tournament by getting the first round off and then playing four straight games.  Each game consistent of two ten minutes halves.

IMS played their first game was against Fay.  The Falcons came out flat and did not play well during their first match-up.  They did not get into any offensive flow, committed many penalties, and ended the game on the short end of a 4-0 score.

The poor game against Fay was difficult to bounce back from, but the IMS team a much better job controlling the tempo of their next game against a very skilled and disciplined Fenn team.  The Falcon athletes’ play during their second game marked a huge improvement in their performance. Despite losing 5-3, IMS coaches were happy with the offense their team generated and were satisfied with the tough and controlled defense the boys played.

Next, Indian Mountain matched up against the perennial powerhouse and eventual champion Fessenden. Again, IMS came out on the losing end of the game, but they did a fine job limiting Fesseden scoring opportunities, allowing only four goals while scoring one.  It was a huge accomplishment. The Indian Mountain offense generated scoring chances, and the defense exhibited great hustle.

IMS next faced Shore Country Day. In the consolation game last year, IMS had beaten SDS in double overtime. Needless to say, SDS players were ready for the game.  Indian Mountain held strong and were leading most of the game 1-0. Unfortunately, the team took a few penalties late in the game and allowed SDS to score.  The game remained close until the very end when SDS put in two quick goals to win 3-1. This ended Indian Mountain’s stretch of four games in a row, and the team enjoyed a well deserved break.

The final game IMS played was against a very skilled and athletic team from Hillside. The game started strangely as each team scored a goals off of procedure calls on the face-offs. Once this flurry of scores ended, IMS and Hillside played a close game, but the Falcons ended up losing to the eventual runner up 5-3. 

Although the team lost each of their five games, players and coaches all felt the Falcons had played well, played hard, and represented IMS in the way they should. At the awards ceremony at the tournament’s conclusion, Indian Mountain was awarded the Sportsmanship Award, and despite coming in last place, the team earned an accomplishment to be very proud of this year. The day represented a true team effort that included superb play from goalies Spencer and Daniel.

The team will complete their season with one game at home against Rumsey on Thursday, May 20, and a final game away at Eaglebrook on Friday, May 21.