Brunswick began today’s lacrosse showdown against The Hill Academy with four consecutive goals, then the visitors from Ontario, Canada came back with four straight tallies of their own, but they simply had no answer for the Bruins’ response late in the second quarter.

The Bruins finished the second quarter with three straight goals, extended their run once the second half began and wound up cruising to yet another impressive win.

Ranked No. 2 in the latest Inside Lacrosse Top 25 Power Rankings, Brunswick continued its perfect season, upending The Hill Academy, 17-9, at crowded Cosby Field. Coming off a tough 7-5 road victory against Taft School, the Bruins upped their record to 8-0 with today’s triumph.

“I thought it was an impressive day,” Brunswick coach David Bruce said. “I felt we played a good game against Taft, tight at times, then it felt like we played loose today and fast. They’re a good team and it took our best to do what we did.”

Senior attack/captain Henry Caponiti registered a team-high four goals, junior midfielder/FOGO Andrew Greenspan recorded a hat trick and sophomore midfielder Hudson Hausmann tallied twice to pace the Bruins offensively against The Hill Academy – a team Brunswick has faced several times in the past.

Junior midfielder Leo Hoffman scored twice, junior midfielder Jackson Wolfram had one goal and one assist and senior middie Will O’Connor also notched a goal and an assist for the victors. Senior defender/captain Will Donovan had one goal, as did junior attack Will Coale and junior midfielder Will Erdmann for the Bruins.

“It was an awesome game all around,” said Donovan, who will play lacrosse at Notre Dame next season. “It’s always fun playing these guys. There’s a huge rivalry there, I remember the fog game a couple of years ago and then there was a bitter loss, I think it was 2019, so it’s always good to beat them. We played our game and came out on top, it was awesome.”

Erdmann opened the game’s scoring, tallying 2:50 into the first quarter. Capitalizing on a Hill turnover, Coale controlled a ground ball and converted a shot from close in, making it 2-0 at the 7:38 mark of the opening quarter. Wolfram scored with 3:04 remaining in the first quarter and the Bruins added another opening-quarter tally to take a 4-0 lead into the second stanza.

“Hill Academy is kind of like the cornerstone of high school lacrosse, so it was awesome to get a win against them,” said Caponiti, who will play at Georgetown next year. “Our defense played great, we had a lot of penalties that didn’t help them out, but (Goalie Luke) Schlank played incredibly well and on offense, in transition, we got some goals from our LSMs.”

Hill Academy responded with four consecutive goals of its own to tie the score at 4-4, their last goal during the spurt occurring with 5:46 to go in the second quarter shortly after a faceoff. The home team took the lead for good when Caponiti scored off a perimeter shot with 5:20 left in the second quarter.

“We felt  good about the way we played in the first quarter, then they came back fighting in the second quarter and we knew it was going to be a good game,” said Brunswick senior defender Charlie Johnson, who will continue his lacrosse career at Duke University next season. We’ve played this team before, they come to play, they play an unbelievable schedule and they came to play a tough, competitive game and it showed.”

Eluding defenders, Hoffman tallied with 1:11 remaining in the second quarter, then O’Connor scored in transition after Greenspan won the ensuing faceoff, upping the Bruins’ advantage to 7-4 with 46.5 seconds to go in the first half.

Greenspan helped the Bruins continue their momentum in the second half, taking the ball down the field and scoring after he won several faceoffs. Brunswick headed into the final quarter with a comfortable 13-5 advantage.

“Fortunately, in the third quarter, Andrew Greenspan and his work at the faceoff-X, having three goals off faceoff wins, we were able to put the ball away,” Johnson said. “He was unbelievable in the third quarter and we were able to distance ourselves.”

Donovan, Johnson, junior Hunter Spiess, sophomore Luke Hublitz, junior Luke Michalik and senior Michael Neviera were among some of the defenders that sparked Brunswick’s stellar effort.

“For the most part, it was pretty spectacular,” Bruce said of his squad’s play. “We lost our heads a little bit, got a couple of penalties and got some transition offsides. But overall, I’m proud of the guys and we have an undefeated Hotchkiss team, which is undefeated this year, next.”

Said Caponiti: “All-around, it was a great team effort, a good win for us. We all have the same goal to be the best team in the country, so we are going to keep our heads down, keep grinding and keep winning.”

Goalie Luke Schlank made seven saves for the Bruins, who host unbeaten Hotchkiss School today at 3 p.m.

“We’re definitely off to a hot start, but we’re looking ahead and we are trying to keep the train rolling and get some wins,” said the Georgetown University-bound Schlank. “I’m lucky to have the poles in front of me they go to battle for me every day. Each game we try to get better.”

“We have Hotchkiss tomorrow and they’re no joke at all,” Donovan noted. “They have  the best team they’ve had in years and it’s going to be another challenge tomorrow, so we have to recover quick and get right back after it. We are not No. 1 yet, so that thought in the back of our mind is the driving force. We know we’re No. 1 and we’re trying to prove it.”