EAST LONGMEADOW – It was a long afternoon for the Belchertown boys lacrosse team, as the Orioles suffered an 11-2 defeat to East Longmeadow on Thursday in a season-opening road contest.

The Orioles (0-1), which played well early on, were unable to get their offense started as they were blanked in the first half. 

Luckily, their early success on the defensive end had the visitors trailing just 3-0 at halftime.

Whether it was first-game offensive rust, or the stout defensive line of the Spartans, it slowed down Belchertown anytime it tried to make things happen near the East Longmeadow goal.

“We played without any confidence,” Belchertown head Nick St.George said. “We really needed to play with courage on the offensive end.”

The second half was more the same, but the East Longmeadow attack strengthened, allowing the hosts to extend their lead throughout.

Michael Monroe and Andrew Nolan led the Spartans in the second half as Monroe netted a third goal for a hat trick, while Nolan added two goals and two assists. 

“I think our defense played well individually, just not as a team,” St. George said. “We need to talk and communicate better on defense.”

Nico St.George and Jack Dragon each netted a goal in the second half, but the Orioles were outshot by a 17-7 margin in the loss.

Ultimately though, St. George said he believes key issues from Thursday’s loss are fixable. 

“I think our intensity in the game reflected our intensity in practice lately,” St. George said. “[But] I think we're a much better team than we showed.”

Belchertown will look to rebound next Tuesday, as it will travel to Northampton to take on the Blue Devils at 6 p.m.

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