BELCHERTOWN – Connor Tobin vowed before the Northampton boys lacrosse season that he wasn’t going out 0-fer.
The Blue Devils lost every game his junior season, an 0-11 slog through COVID-19 restrictions. They hadn’t won since May 18, 2019, after the 2020 season was canceled by the beginning of the pandemic and the 2019 season finished on a four-game losing streak.
Tobin ended it with a hard drive right toward the Belchertown cage on Tuesday, dodging three Orioles defenders in overtime. He fired a shot to the bottom left corner and beat a sliding Dax Morin for the golden goal and an 8-7 win to open the season.
“Once this game went into overtime, I called my own number. I knew that I wasn’t letting this go longer than it needs to,” Tobin said. “We’ve got a young group, and one of my goals as a senior is to set the best example for these kids and teach them how to win. I’m not going out my senior year without letting them know how to win and how it feels to win.”
It was Tobin’s fourth goal of the game. He put away three in the game’s first 13 minutes then saved his best for last.
Goal: Connor Tobin wins it for @NHSbluedevils 8-7 in OT. 1:52 left in the extra period over Belchertown pic.twitter.com/2Srpet4x5i
— Kyle Grabowski (@kylegrbwsk) April 5, 2022
“It’s been a big godsend in practice for him to lead the way with these guys,” Northampton coach Peter Carbery said.
The Blue Devils (1-0) needed poise to open the season with a road win. Belchertown (0-1) scored the game’s first two goals, as Elias Marques (three goals) and Brady Moreau (two goals) struck in the first five minutes to put the Orioles up 2-0.
Freshman Jackson Oravec responded 90 seconds later with Northampton’s first goal at 7:18 of the first quarter, then Tobin tied it at 2 with a bounced shot with 2:49 left in the quarter. Neither team led by more than a goal for the rest of the game.
Marques put Belchertown up 4-3 with 10:18 to halftime, and Rylan Queiros gave the Orioles a 5-4 lead at 7:37. He took a big hit heading toward the goal and still finished the shot.
Northampton put away the next two. Jack Carpenter ripped a long shot from outside the circle to tie it at 5, then Oravec notched his second goal to give the Blue Devils a 6-5 halftime lead.
“This was a great game to get our players the feel of high school ball,” Tobin said.”This is a great game to break us in. We played well, but we’ve got a lot of things to work on.”
The pace slowed in the second half.
Marques completed his hat trick to know the game at 6 with 8:46 to go in the third.
Carpenter put Northampton up 7-6 on a drive all the way to the cage three minutes later.
The Blue Devils then put themselves in a dangerous situation to close the third. Vincent Fahey was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct with 1:52. Carbery doubled up on that with a conduct penalty arguing the call, leaving Northampton down two men with just a one-goal lead.
Northampton killed both penalties thanks in part to stout play from goalie Daniel Huntley (10 saves). He turned away Belchertown’s first shot and cleared the ball to Tobin, who killed most of it running with the ball in his stick in transition.
“That was crucial. If they score right there, that’s momentum shifted,” Tobin said. “We knew our defense could hold it down and make sure momentum stayed on our side.”
The Orioles grabbed enough back to send it to overtime. Moreau rolled in the tying goal between Huntley’s legs after a scramble with 6:34 left.
Northampton called timeout with 30 seconds remaining and the ball but couldn’t put one in the net to avoid the extra frame.
Belchertown won the opening face-off in overtime and held the possession in Northampton’s end for a few cracks without anything decisive.
“We just had too many breakdowns, too many mental mistakes. We weren’t tough enough defensively,” Belchertown coach Nick St. George said. “We’re a young team, and we’re just focused on getting better every single time we walk on the field. We graduated most of the starters last year, so we’re really starting from scratch.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk