Alvirne boys lacrosse became the first team to clinch a playoff berth this spring after winning their first two games of the week 14-2 over ConVal and 13-4 over Merrimack Valley before falling 18-9 to the top-seeded Portsmouth Clippers.
On Tuesday, Alvirne was carried by seven goals from Jonovan Santana as well as two from Ryan Tobin and Brandon LaVarnway and Cedrik Beaulieu, as well as one from Ryan Hurrell. Alvirne was also helped by Brody Orr who won eight faceoffs for the Broncos. Ayden Kelly stopped seven of the nine shots he faced on Tuesday night.
Alvirne quickly turned around to beat Merrimack Valley 13-4 behind six goals from Santana, five from Beaulieu and one apiece from LaVarnway and Chris Darbe. Brody Orr added ten faceoff victories, and Kelly stopped 18 of the 22 shots he faced, earning a stat line looking more like what we saw from Trent Scarbro for the Admirals than a lacrosse goalie.
On Friday, Alvirne played host to Portsmouth in what was their final home game of the regular season, and they left Veterans Memorial Stadium with a sour taste in their mouths after a 18-9 loss to Division II’s number one seed.
The Broncos picked up four goals from Ceddy Beaulieu, two from Jon Santana, and one from Brandon LaVarnway, Chris Darbe, and Ryan Tobin in the loss.
Alvirne will be on the road the rest of the season as they will play at Pembroke Academy on Tuesday and then finish their regular season at Winnacunnet on Friday. These games cannot eliminate the Broncos from playoff contention, but they still mean a lot to the Broncos as they could be the difference between a home game and an away game in the first round.