PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Pittsfield’s boys lacrosse coach was a lot more encouraged after his team’s 12-4 loss on Monday than Wahconah’s coach was after a 12-4 win.
Zach Sondrini’s team came out on the winning end of Monday’s game at Egremont Elementary School in Pittsfield, but you would not know it to hear him talk about the performance.
“We were not disciplined today,” Sondrini said. “It’s nice to win even when you play badly. We’ve been doing great, but then this game …
“And don’t take anything away from Pittsfield High. Pittsfield battled. They were down a lot of guys. They came hungry. They were down three huge starters, and they just came out and battled more.”
Dart Jaggi and Connor Washburn each scored four goals, and Vinny Orlandi made 10 saves as Wahconah won its seventh straight and improved to 10-3 this spring.
Pittsfield (5-10) came into the game on a three-game winning streak.
And despite the injuries and the final score, Generals’ coach Scott Aitken was pleased with the effort he got from his team.
“I know we came up on the short end, but we played them way better this time than last time,” he said, referring to a 15-1 loss in Dalton last month.
“We saw some improvement on a lot of parts, and I’m happy about that. I’m not thrilled about coming out on the losing end, obviously, but I’m not upset. … They’re definitely starting to catch on to things we’ve been going over for the season. It’s nice to see those things click in their heads.”
Jesse Kramer scored twice, and Kevin Quinto and Jacob Brazeau each had a couple of assists for Pittsfield. Shawn O’Shea and Brandon Murray each scored a goal, and Ethan Beach and Aaron Houghtaling combined to make 17 saves.
Wahconah jumped on top early, scoring the game’s first five goals -- three by Washburn -- to go ahead, 5-0, early in the opening minutes of the second quarter.
“I think we went a little hesitant because guys were sick or out,” Aitken. “There was a little adjusting to who was on the field. Once we settled down and played ball, I was very happy with the effort and the focus on both ends of the field.”
The Generals got on the board to make it a four-goal game, but Jaggi found the back of the net twice before half-time to give Wahconah a six-goal lead at the break.
Pittsfield played its strongest quarter in the third, when Kramer and Murray scored on back-to-back possession to get the deficit down to 7-3.
But Wahconah scored to make it 8-4 after three quarters and got the first four goals of the fourth to put the game away.
Pittsfield will look to continue to improve on Wednesday at Hoosac Valley, a team that beat the Generals, 10-4, last month.
Wahconah Wednesday goes to Lee, where Sondrini’s team has never won. Earlier this year, Wahconah beat the Wildcats, 11-8, in Dalton.
