LEWISTON — The preseason calendar was covered with one giant question mark for Oak Hill boys’ lacrosse.

When would the Raiders be able to practice on a dry surface other than pavement? And how soon would the dozen players whose grades weren’t up to par at the third-quarter checkpoint become eligible?

In these uncertain times, Oak Hill coach Dan Brannigan has the luxury of turning to junior goaltender Matty Martin for some answers.

Martin silenced a blistering, eye-level shot by St. Dom’s Matt Chasse with five seconds remaining in regulation Wednesday night, preserving a 3-2 victory on the turf at Bates College.

Mikey Pease also blocked a bid by Kenton Ernst after Oak Hill went a man down due an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the bench with 20.5 seconds left.

“I was scared. I said, ‘This isn’t going in,'” said Martin, who cradled the ball in the pouch at the end of his stick and ran out the clock. “Those (high shots) are personally better saves for me.”

Martin made five saves for Oak Hill, which pulled in front to stay on Kyle Flaherty’s man-advantage goal with 6:51 remaining in the third quarter.

Now a junior, Martin has started in the cage for every game of his high school career.

“I could not ask for a better goalie. I could not want anybody else,” Brannigan said. “Matty is a wall. If something goes in he takes the blame because he knows he’s the last line. He takes it and he saves everybody.”

Defense kept both teams afloat on a cold night when passes and shots were far from midseason form.

And rightfully so. St. Dom’s logged only three hours of outdoor practice time prior to the game. Oak Hill has been on grass twice and turf for a round robin a third day, but the 12 players on academic probation didn’t suit up on that trip to Thornton Academy. All are back.

Each team has a rescheduled exhibition game on the docket before its next regular-season contest.

“It’s all been in the gym, which isn’t really up to the size of a field,” Flaherty said. “We’ve all played with each other the past few years, and it’s just team chemistry, I guess. It was a rough game, but we pulled out the win.”

Flaherty also assisted a fourth-quarter goal by Kaleb Sturtevant. Dan Woodard provided a tally for Oak Hill in the first period.

Austin Roy and Cooper Richard scored for the Saints, each assisted by Ernst.

“Defensively we looked good .It’s our offense that stalled. There weren’t many shots,” St. Dom’s coach Jamie King said. “We’re very young. Every our seniors are second-year players. Our younger guys have built to become a team, which is good.”

Roy’s goal with 9:46 remaining in the second quarter left the teams tied 1-1 at halftime.

Despite three one-minute increments with numbers in its favor in the third period, Oak Hill couldn’t pull away, producing only the Flaherty goal. Adam Vining and Tyler Sirois were pivotal defensive for the Saints in the short-handed situations.

Martin foreshadowed his game-saver with a carbon-copy stop of Ernst from the perimeter early in the fourth. Sturtevant scored the insurance goal shortly thereafter.

“We saw what we have for a team this year, and I think with some work, we’ll be good,” Martin said.

Oak Hill tried to kill the clock in the final minute, only to have turnovers and the dead ball penalty flag supply St. Dom’s with a final opportunity.

“When we’re not outside, we don’t space. We’re used to throwing passes in 5- and 10-foot increments,” Brannigan said. “At the very end when we were trying to stay spaced out, the passes got a little hairy. It’s a whole different look. When you’re used to seeing bleachers and you get outside and see fans, it throws you all off.”

Alex Michaud made 11 saves for St. Dom’s.

Copy the Story Link