Bishop England’s defense delivers strong performance in lacrosse opener win

After an opening prayer honoring the recent passing of Bishop England legendary coach Jack Cantey, the Battling Bishops boys’ varsity lacrosse team opened their 2020 season with a home win over the Christ Church Cavaliers.

Coached by Tyler Tracy and led by the stellar goaltending of Joe LoPriore, the Bishops dominated in a 7-2 victory at Jack Cantey Stadium. LoPriore, a junior, stopped 11 of the 13 shots on goal, earning an impressive and noteworthy 84.6 save percentage. Rounding out the Bishops’ powerful defense were senior captains McDowell Wyman and Mick Marcacci, and junior defenseman Graham Kelly.

Offensively, senior captain Drew Owens captured the attention of fans in the crowded stadium with his dominance at face-offs. Winning 10 out of 11 face-offs, Owens gave the Bishops the advantage of consistent ball possession, a crucial component of the game.

In the first quarter, Christ Church came out hungry with an unassisted goal by James Morton with 2:45 left on the clock. The Bishops answered the challenge just 20 seconds later, with a rip by junior attackman Dennis Treasurer off a feed from junior midfielder Eddie Marinaro.

Treasurer later pierced the goal two more times, earning a hat trick in the game.

After Kevin McCarthy scored their second and only other goal of the match, the Cavaliers were shut down by LoPriore and the Bishops’ commanding defense.

Junior midfielder Michael Long also scored an impressive two goals and an assist during the contest. Long, Marinaro, junior midfielder Keegan Bittner and freshman midfielders Marco Pampu and Ryan Murphy all displayed defensive grit in muscling forced turnovers and groundball captures in favor of the Bishops, demonstrating the athletic toughness required for the midfielder position.

Junior attackman Jack Jennings tallied his first goal of the season, as did freshman midfielder Watson Mcloud in his varsity debut. Murphy and sophomore attackman John Turisk added to the victory with an assist each.
The Bishops take on Nansemond Suffolk Academy from Suffolk, Virginia, at home on March 6 at 6 p.m.