BERLIN- With a new head coach at the helm, Worcester Prep’s boys’ varsity lacrosse team opened the 2019 season with an 8-5 over old rival Saints Peter and Paul on the road on Tuesday.
The Mallards opened the season with a gutty 8-5 win over Eastern Shore Independent Athletic Conference (ESIAC) rival Saints Peter and Paul in Easton on Tuesday. The game went back and forth and featured several mini scoring spurts by both teams before Worcester took charge late to open the season at 1-0.
Worcester’s Alec Dembeck opened the scoring with a goal just two minutes into the contest for a 1-0 lead. About halfway through the fourth quarter, Dembeck assisted on a nice goal by Owen Tunis to put the Mallards ahead, 4-0, with about four minutes left in the period.
Saints Peter and Paul rallied for two goals in the second quarter and the game was tied at 2-2 at the half. Worcester took charge again in the third with three unanswered goals during one stretch. The Mallards got another goal by Dembeck, followed by goals from Jay Gosnear and Brugh Moore during the sequence to take a 5-2 lead.
There was no quit in the Sabres, however. Saints Peter and Paul rallied with three straight goals to tie the game again at 5-5 with about eight minutes remaining. Worcester finished strong on the road, however, with three straight goals of its own. During the stretch to close out the game, the Mallards got goals from Graham McColgan with six minutes left, Gosnear again with four minutes left and finally Mason Brown on a nice move from behind the net to finish the 8-5 win.
The Mallards are led this season by new Head Coach John Moeser, who also coached Worcester’s boys’ varsity basketball team this year. Moeser comes to Worcester with an impressive resume, having just completed his 23rd year as a teacher and coach at Calvert Hall in Baltimore. At the Baltimore prep school, Moeser was the junior varsity head coach and assist varsity coach for both basketball and lacrosse.
He takes over a Worcester Prep team loaded with upperclassmen and a flock of young Mallards ready to spread their wings this season. After Tuesday’s win in the season opener, the Mallards won’t take the field again until a March 27 game against cross-town rival Stephen Decatur at home.
