Boys’ Lacrosse: Falcons fire away and shut down Laconia in the second half to win, 11-2

Short-stick defensive midfielder Adam Auclair (2) fends off Laconia midfielder Sean O’Sullivan (11) in during the Falcons’ 11-2 Division III boys’ lacrosse win over the Sachems in Bow on Monday afternoon. ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor staff photos

ABOVE: Bow attackman Wyatt Premo (21) strolls after away after a quick catch-and-release goal in the third quarter against Laconia on Monday. ALEXANDER RAPP—Monitor staff

Attacker Wyatt Premo (21) catches and releases quickly to widen Bow’s lead in the third quarter over Laconia. ALEXANDER RAPP—Monitor staff

Bow attacker Niko Mallios did a little of everything as he was strong on defense and scored four goals to earn the Falcons a win over Laconia, 11-2. ALEXANDER RAPP—Monitor staff

RIGHT: Bow attackman Niko Mallios did a little of everything in Monday’s win, playing a strong defensive game and scoring a team-best four goals.

Bow faceoff specialist Jake Antuna (10) kept the offense in rhythm and won 11 of his 17 draws on the day. ALEXANDER RAPP—Monitor staff

By ALEXANDER RAPP

Monitor staff

Published: 05-20-2025 4:30 PM

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Physical dominance on defense and attacker Niko Mallios’ four goals led Boys High boys’ lacrosse team to an 11-2 victory over Laconia on Monday, keeping the Falcons in contention for a top-three finish in Division III.

Bow’s offense shined in the win against the Sachems. What was more impressive was the defense and goaltender Brad Ekstrom’s performance. In the second half, Bow shut Laconia out and held the Sachems to their lowest goal tally of the season.

Ekstrom had 14 saves, many of which required him to get low quickly. The windows for shots were few and far between for Laconia (7-4) as well. The communication on defense was key for Bow, and the speed at which the Falcons collapsed upon any creeping attacker was enough to hold them at bay, according to coach Devin Calkins.

“We are always trying to take away team strengths. Just all the credit goes to the players for going out and being the ones that are in between the lines and executing. We had a good film session, so we were ready for what they were going to do,” Calkins said.

The physical presence in the circle by defenders Caleb Schumacher and Joe York, short-stick defensive midfielder Keenan Hubbard and defender Eli Ayers, who led with seven ground balls and four forced turnovers, was crucial to stopping Laconia’ soffense. However, it also led to the Falcons drawing three penalties, which against a quicker and more offensively loaded team, could have exacted a higher price.

Fortunately for Bow, attackmen Kian O’Leary and Wyatt Premo and midfielder Parker Kazanowski backed Mallios up and kept on scoring despite starting slowly in the first quarter.

“We just go hard. We practice as hard as we can to go hard every game. We push ourselves (to) just leave it all out there on the field. We’re improving every single day, every practice, every game. We’re just going to push through and play our game,” Mallios said after the win.

The Falcons now stand at 9-1 on the season and third in the D-III standings as they look to bring home a state championship. Bow, which last won a state crown in 2010 in D-II, fell in last year’s D-III final to Campbell, 6-4.

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