Narragansett Slips Past EP in Ejection-Marred Boys’ Lacrosse Game

NARRAGANSETT – In a chippy, penalty-filled game Monday afternoon, the Narragansett Mariners overcame an early 3-0 defecit to beat the East Providence Townies 9-8 in Division III boys’ lacrosse.

East Providence (6-5, 6-5 Division III) scored two goals in the game’s first 38 seconds, and another with 5:26 remaining in the first quarter. However, from that point on the Mariners (5-7, 5-5 Division III) got the best of the action on and off the field.

The second half of the game was marred by the ejection of East Providence senior David “DJ” Donahue with about 9:30 remaining in the third quarter and the game tied 6-6.

Donahue was originally given a penalty for repeatedly protesting calls, according to officials. However, while on the sidelines, he then got into a shouting match with several Narragansett high school students watching from the students.

From about 25 feet away on the track, the spectators couldn’t be heard. However, in response to them, Donahue yelled, “I’ll beat your ass faggot!” and “You live in a beach town.” Officials told East Providence coach Brad Wilson to put Donahue on the bus for the remainder of the game.

Donahue walked up the hill toward the bus, but then tried to walk behind the Narragansett press box, in an attempt to find and fight the people he believed had been heckling him. A teammate accompanied him and prevented him from engaging anyone, and he watched the rest of the game from the top of the hill in front of the East Providence bus.

Wilson asked that the fans in the crowd be controlled, and the field refs refused to get involved in policing the stands. This caused two East Providence students to loudly heckle for the next 10 minutes, followed by a short back-and-forth between fans before a relatively quiet fourth quarter.

Following the game, an angry East Providence parent confronted both field refs. The officials ignored the man while walking toward the parking lot.

In the end, Narragansett head coach Mark Chafee said his team was able to control its emotions slightly better than East Providence when calls went against them.

“I expected it to be physical and chippy, and they were better behaved than I expected,” he said.

Both teams were heavily penalized throughout. The end result of Donahue’s ejection was six minutes of a man advantage for the Mariners, but they couldn’t capitalize on it. The game remained tied 6-6 heading into the fourth.

Narragansett junior midfielder Patrick Degnan broke up the tie in unusual fashion. Down two men because of penalties, Degnan intercepted a pass and went the full length of the field by himself, slinging a shot past the East Providence goalkeeper with 9:01 remaining.

East Providence tied it back up with 5:29 remaining. Peter Medeiros had a great underhand shot from about 15 feet out for the goal.

However, in the game’s final five minutes, Narragansett senior Harry Holland was everywhere for the Mariners.

With 4:49 remaining, Holland scored unassisted after a strong run at the net. Cody Fontes tied it back up for the Townies with 3:33 left, but Holland answered right back at 3:12. He was left open in front of the goal, with junior Chris Grant picking up the assist.

For the final three minutes, Holland was the key factor in killing the clock, with freshman Henry McGreen and sophomore Matthew McGreen. East Providence only got one possession and no shots in the time frame.

Holland, who plans to attend prep school in the fall for lacrosse, said he feels like he thrives in pressure situations like Monday’s game.

“I love the intensity and there is nothing more intense than that,” he said.

Holland scored a goal in the first half, and finished with three. He said he didn’t get dissuaded after not scoring on several runs in the first.

“I was just kind of waiting, because I knew my opponents were getting gassed,” he said, adding that he was also getting used to some new equipment. He broke his thumb several weeks ago, and Monday’s game was his first with a soft-cast as opposed to a hard-cast.

Holland is the team’s lone senior, which he admitted is odd at times. He and Chafee both said it sometimes showed in the team’s fundamentals, which was their focus for any sort of playoff run.

“It’s a growing year,” Chafee said. “These guys are young but they’re improving. We’ve come up with some nice wins here.”

Chafee said the focus in the final week will be improving their seeding for the playoffs. They have a good chance of doing so, as the end the league schedule with away and home games against the Tiverton and Rogers co-op (1-8, 1-8 Division III). The Mariners travel to Tiverton today for a 6 p.m. game, and then host Tiverton-Rogers at 4 p.m. Friday.

Finally, the Mariners end the regular season with a non-league rivalry game with South Kingstown (10-3, 8-3 Division II-South). Face-off is 7 p.m. Monday at Curtis Corner Middle School.