Physically, the visitors were every bit the equal of their hosts. But Salem’s boys lacrosse team, which trekked nearly 80 miles round trip for an interdivisional contest on Saturday, April 26, proved it has a long way to go to match Bow’s proven mental makeup.

The Falcons, last year’s Division- II runner-up and fresh off a 7-6 double-overtime defeat of D-II champ St. Thomas Aquinas a day earlier, played steady, heady lax in an 8-1 victory over the Division-I Blue Devils.

“Some of the kids were saying, ‘They’re D-II, so no problem.’ Well, they’re also the state runner-up, and they’re always strong,” said Salem head coach Chris Kelleher. “Skill-wise and athletically, I don’t think they’re that different than us. Mentally, though, there’s a big gap there.”

True, Bow controlled play by every physical, statistical measure – shots on goal, saves by David Bucchino in the first half and Nick Calkins in the second, and, of course, assists and goals scored – but that doesn’t completely explain Bow’s dominance.

“We talk about mental toughness, about things we can control,” said Bow’s cocoach, Steve Gaudreau. “The kids have consistently done a good job in how they react to situations.”

Against Salem, Bow forced the visitors to do most of the reacting. Only a nifty catch-and- shoot goal late in the fourth quarter prevented Bow from securing the shutout.

Meanwhile, the offense produced three goals in the first quarter and three more in the second, and Bow rotated in a number of players who helped the Falcons pull away.

“Someone like (sophomore midfielder) Chris Roberts had an opportunity, and he’s worked his way up,” said head coach Chris Gaudreau. “We’ve got a lot of kids that are fundamentally sound. That’s a credit to the youth program in town.”

Game notes

Sean Dippold, Stephen Lagos and Alex Grip tallied in the first quarter, then Alex Davies and Steven Gallerani gave Bow a 5-0 edge. Dippold capped the first-half barrage. Gallerani netted both of the Falcons’ second- half scores, one each in the third and fourth quarters.

Speedy Greg Bueddeman contributed two assists, and Dippold also had multiple helpers. Roberts assisted on Gallerani’s second score.