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DALLAS – The struggles through a difficult non-league schedule continued into the Wyoming Valley Conference boys lacrosse opener for Dallas Tuesday night.
The Mountaineers spent most of the first seven minutes in their defensive end before improved passing gradually turned the game in their direction.
Connor Motley, Cory Metz and Omar Nijmeh found their teammates with the passing that got Dallas clicking on the way to a 13-3 victory over Lake-Lehman.
“We finally gelled,” first-year Dallas coach Drew Abatangelo said after watching his team suffer non-league losses to Wyoming Seminary, Selinsgrove and Lewisburg, then go scoreless for the first 10:29 against Lake-Lehman. “They finally realized to run the offense and to not be selfish and they were getting the looks we asked for.”
Motley, Metz and Nijmeh each had at least three assists.
When a teammate’s shot went wide, Motley took control behind the cage and fired a pass in front to Metz for the only goal of the first quarter.
Motley also assisted on the game’s second goal, serving as the middle man between Nijmeh’s steal and long run up the field and Brendah Baloh’s finish from close range on the right side.
Metz led the way, producing all five of his assists in the second half, and also scoring a game-high four goals.
Just 1:33 into the second half, Metz found Nijmeh for a 4-1 lead. Just eight seconds after Corey McAndrew made one of his 11 saves on the other end, Dallas completed a fastbreak for a 6-2 lead when Metz found Motley at the other end. Dallas kept Lake-Lehman pinned in its own end and, following a turnover, Metz set up Baloh’s goal for a 7-2 lead late in the third.
Metz scored three of the goals and assisted on two when Dallas put the game away with six unanswered scores in the fourth quarter.
“He just has great vision,” Abatangelo said, “and he’s not afraid to go to the cage.”
Nijmeh scored in the second, third and fourth quarters to finish with three goals and three assists.
Motley had a goal and three assists.
The deeper Dallas lineup wore down Lake-Lehman as the game progressed.
“We were staying with them,” Lake-Lehman coach Brandon Kelley said. “I think my guys just ran out of gas.”
Baloh and Jesse Goode added two goals and Matt Ross one in the Dallas win.
Brian Devine and Luke Yaple scored goals to keep Lake-Lehman within 4-2 until Dallas scored three straight goals in a span of 3:43 late in the third quarter. Charlie Kuschke also added a goal and Jimmy Loeflad had an assist.
Dallas led in shots, 34-21.
Jake Yaple had nine saves and Paul Ciaccia one for the Black Knights.