Saugus lacrosse completes comeback, beats Hart in OT 

Parker Teel (26) of Saugus drives to the goal against Hart defender Scott Morris (7) at Hart on Wednesday, 022024. Dan Watson/The Signal
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Saugus senior Parker Teel soared down the field in overtime of Wednesday’s league matchup at Hart in search of a sudden-death goal. 

Teel weaved through multiple Indian defenders and punched in the golden goal to beat Hart 12-11 in overtime, completing the Centurion comeback. 

Saugus (2-2, 1-0) played catchup throughout the game but surged back to life late in the third quarter, where the team punched in four goals. 

Hart (1-2, 1-1) held Saugus to just one goal for a 15-minute span in the second and third quarters before Saugus broke through. The Centurions netted four goals in the final few minutes of the period, including one coming from , who rocketed in his first goal of the season to put Saugus up 10-9. 

Samuel Grumet (5) of Saugus drives to the goal against Hart defender Joseph Montez (18) in the second half at Hart on Wednesday, 022024. Dan Watson/The Signal

The Indians were led by senior Tate Fuller, who finished the game with six goals. Fuller was involved in the last two Hart goals as he broke through the Saugus defense and hit Blake Osoria, who made a nice fake and scored the equalizer before Fuller took the 11-10 lead after he broke free on a pick and roll play with Benjamin Gomez. 

Hart dominated the early going of the fourth quarter and looked to be en route to the team’s first win over Saugus since 2019. 

However, with four minutes to go, Saugus got back to the basics as Connor Basey hit a cutting Kaden Barcus, who scored the final equalizer.  

Both teams had chances to score in overtime but were turned away by stellar defense.  

Saugus tried setting up a play for Teel but Hart made one last key stop. On the counter, Fuller made another big charge from the midfield but was swarmed by Centurion defenders, who knocked the senior off balance and forced a turnover. 

Hart goalkeeper Beau Vought (11) makes a save on a shot on goal by Wyatt Notch (22) of Saugus in the second half at Hart on Wednesday, 022024. Dan Watson/The Signal

Teel led the charge back down to the Hart goal and blasted his final goal in to clinch the sudden death game. 

Kim felt his team was the better team on Wednesday but the coach knows too many mistakes against a strong Saugus team will cost you. 

“I think with our performance on both sides of the ball I think we were the better team in most parts of the game,” Kim said. “Saugus is a well-coached team and they’ll make you pay for mistakes and that’s what we had too much of in the second half.” 

Hart opened up the game with a 4-3 first quarter and threw off Saugus with its physicality. 

“We made a lot of adjustments in the offense where we had to possess the ball more,” said Saugus coach Joshua Ireland. “We had a couple of longer possessions which controlled the flow of the game. Defensively, we really started playing tough and got really physical. Hart came out physical and it was surprising to us that they played more physical than us in the first half. So we had to step up the physicality.” 

Saugus ramped up the pressure and start gaining more possession later in the game. Centurions senior Aiden Caouette was key in that department as he won the vast majority of his face-offs. 

The Centurions graduated another strong senior class in 2023 but are still looking like league contenders after winning the program’s 17th-straight Foothill League game. Saugus has another loaded senior class ready to battle in their varsity finales this year but the rest of the roster is made of underclassmen and new faces. 

Max Smith (32) of Hart celebrates after he scored in the first quarter against Saugus at Hart on Wednesday, 022024. Dan Watson/The Signal

Hart also has its share of new faces as a couple of football standouts have found a second home in lacrosse. Indians senior Tim Larkins picked up lacrosse in November and netted two goals against Saugus. Hart’s Scott Morris is also new to the sport and can be seen locking down opposing scoring threats. 

“Despite the loss, I’m still very impressed with our team,” Kim said. “Tim Larkins is a first-year lacrosse player. He was a quarterback on the football team. He came in November, and picked it up right away. He’s super fast, proved himself right away and became an immediate contributor. We also have guys like Scott Morris, our defender covering other teams’ No. 1 offensive players and he did a great job on Parker Teel.” 

Hart has won just five league games in the last three seasons, but even Ireland acknowledged the Indians have been building something special. Hart is aiming high in league and looking for the program’s second playoff berth. 

“I think the goal obviously is to win league,” Kim said. “That’s always an emphasis for us. A lot of things have to work out now for that to happen but making the playoffs is a huge goal for us. I think we have the team to do it. We just have to make sure that we’re playing consistently and we’re playing our brand of lacrosse.” 

Parker Teel (26) of Saugus celebrates after he tied the score in the second quarter against Hart at Hart on Wednesday, 022024. Dan Watson/The Signal

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