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Victory not in cards for Mooney
By sTEVE WILAJ
YOUNGSTOWN
With junior Mark Ricciardi leading the charge, the Cardinal Mooney lacrosse team was ready from the get-go in Tuesday’s matchup against stout Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy.
It showed when the Cardinals trailed by just one goal after the first quarter, keyed by a couple hard-earned Ricciardi scores.
“We had ’em where we wanted them,” Mooney coach Chris Joss said. “But we let it get away.”
The Cardinals couldn’t keep their opening-period momentum, falling to CVCA, 16-9, at Cardinal Mooney High School to drop to 3-4 on the season.
“We came out ready to play and were fired up from the start, but I guess the morale kind of went down,” said Ricciardi, who finished with a team-high four goals. “We just have to play stronger going forward.
“Definitely in practice we’re gonna work on some things, because we had a few situations where the defense got a little out of place — the offense, too.”
Mooney trailed only 5-4 after the first quarter, but CVCA (8-1) outscored the Cardinals 5-1 in the second period to take a commanding 10-5 lead into the break. The Royals were led by Noah Desousa’s six goals and Mitch Gilley’s four.
“We let them get in front of our goal — let them set up shop there — and we’re gonna pay for it every time,” Joss said. “We kept them out from in front of our goal early on. But when they can just stand there and wait for the ball, they’re gonna beat us every time.”
Joss added that the defense must improve for Mooney going forward.
“We have to play tighter defense and we have to be able to get more shots,” he said. “When they’re outshooting us 2-1, that’s gonna spell disaster every time.”
Ricciardi scored his four goals on eight shots, while Jimmy Brown added three goals on seven shots for Mooney.
The lopsided loss follows a 20-8 win over Canfield last week. However, the Cardinals dropped games at Green and Revere the week prior — two crucial losses, according to Joss.
“We’re playing pretty decent, but we should be a little better than 3-4,” he said. “At least 4-3 or 5-2. We lost a couple we shouldn’t have lost, but we’re coming along and getting better.”
Ricciardi echoed the same feelings.
“I think we’re a strong team — I love my teammates,” he said. “We’re all good friends and bond well. But we definitely have to work on the basics and get back to the fundamentals. But I think we’re a strong team and we’ll be playoff-ready for sure.”
Mooney has six more regular-season games remaining, including one on Friday at New Castle.
The Cardinals like their potential — which certainly showed in Tuesday’s first quarter.
“I think these guys, the way they can play, we can go further than we have before,” Joss said. “But again, we have to play a little better D in front of the goal and also play a little better offense.”
Added Ricciardi: “I just want us to go far in the playoffs — that’s in the back of my mind all the time.”