The cage must have felt the size of a mouse hole for Riverdale. The Falcons hit every part of it except for the back just once.
“We just couldn’t find the net today.” Riverdale coach T. J. Barnett said.
Horace Mann played a physical and disciplined zone that make it hard on Riverdale to attack. It forced the Falcons to shoot from the outside. As Lions star Matt Fox tallied five goals and an assist, Riverdale had multiple shots hit the post and crossbar in a 7-1 loss in Ivy League boys lacrosse at Horace Mann Wednesday. Riverdale won the first meeting, 10-9, earlier this season.
“We are going through a bad spell right now,” Barnett said after the team’s second straight loss. “We caught them when we were playing well. Now they caught us when we are not playing well.”
Riverdale, which is without junior attack Will Hendrickson because of a torn ACL, scored its lone goal of the game in the third quarter. Leading scorer Marcus Lander put one in off a pass from Neil Hamamoto with 1:24 left in the stanza.
The momentum was short lived for the Falcons, which own a win over first-place Hackley. Fox, who eluded defenders all game, beat two and scored from the left side and 14 seconds later Toby Lee found the net. It extended the lead to 6-1 with 11:25 left in the game and Riverdale (7-5) never recovered.
“Being down three is one thing,” Barnett said. “Them getting those two quick ones it did deflate us and we just couldn’t fight back from it.”
His team had numerous chances in the second quarter to get back in the game as it dominated possession. The Horace Mann (7-5) defense made it difficult, cutting off shooting lanes and were not afraid to step in front of shots. Second-half goalie Peter’s Cronkite made make five saves including two keys ones to start the third quarter.
“They got their shots and were getting them in,” Barnett said. “We were hitting pipe or hitting them in the leg. It was just one of the days where none of the bounces went our way.”