Thursday night’s boys’ lacrosse tilt between Toll Gate and Warwick Vets featured two teams that couldn’t have been more opposite.

For Toll Gate, it was motivated to grab a win, looking to hopefully clinch a playoff spot in the final week of the regular season. As for Vets, it was in the final stages of putting an end to a disappointing last season.

The Titans raced out to a 9-0 lead by halftime in an eventual 14-2 victory over the ’Canes, certainly not the result that Vets was hoping for in its last home game as a program.

After a slow start to the first quarter, the Titans got on the board roughly seven minutes in when a pass to the Vets keeper was mishandled. Titans’ freshman Austin Sequeira was there to pick up the loose ball and bury it for a 1-0 lead.

Thirty seconds later, Toll Gate doubled its lead when Kyle Palumbo whipped a low shot to the back of the net to make it 2-0 after one quarter.

In the second quarter, Toll Gate’s offense exploded.

It got goals from Will Patenaude, Ezra Cox, Jack Dean and Palumbo in the first five minutes of the second frame, giving the Titans a commanding 6-0 lead and triggering Vets’ head coach Alex Gregson to take a timeout.

That slowed Toll Gate’s progress a bit, but not altogether.

Patenaude would score twice more before the buzzer sounded for halftime, and Palumbo added his third as well, as Toll Gate held a 9-0 advantage at the break.

While Toll Gate’s offense was clicking on all cylinders in the first half, so was its defense.

The Titans were able to limit Vets’ chances, and keeper Kyle Marsh came up with five big saves.

“We had a pretty good defensive game,” Toll Gate head coach Mike Vadney said. “Defensively, we spent the last week working on man-ball, off-ball defenders being in a position to back up and assist on the slides. I think today it paid off a little bit. Kyle Marsh, I know he was bummed he wanted that shutout, but [Vets] was firing hard. They had some good, quality shots. I’ve been very happy with how he’s developed through the year as a goaltender.”

Toll Gate’s balanced attack continued to pay dividends in the third quarter.

Dean found Palumbo out in front for an easy score in the opening minute, before Alex Mowry, Sequeira and Sean Vittum all found twine to give Toll Gate a 13-0 lead at the conclusion of three quarters.

The Titans scored the first goal in the final quarter as well, with Ryan Sabol whipping a low shot near-side to balloon Toll Gate’s lead to 14.

Vets would, however, score the final two goals on its home turf.

Freshman Shaun Bibby got the scoring started for the ’Canes at the five-minute mark when he finished off a nice feed from fellow freshman Tyler Scotti.

Junior Tim Chaffee got in on the action just under a minute later when he bolted past a defender to the right and shot across his body for the goal. ’Canes reflect on program During halftime, Vets honored its three seniors – Eric Procaccini, Jared Davenport and Chris Grundy.

It’s overwhelming to be a senior on senior night, but knowing that the last group of seniors took the field for the final time at Vets made the evening that much more surreal for Davenport.

“It’s tough because we spend our whole high school careers fighting on this field,” Davenport said. “Tonight was the last fight I had on this field.”

“They put in their time, and it’s hard to see them go,” Gregson said of his seniors. “They were freshmen when I first started with this program, and now it’s all coming to an end. It’s sad to see them go, but it’s also sad for the program that we won’t have a school anymore.”

Vets still had one more game left on its schedule at Pilgrim on Monday night, but for Gregson, it was tough to come to grips with the fact that he’d coached his last home game after four seasons coaching the team.

“We’ve had some good seasons and some bad seasons, but it’s always been fun,” Gregson said.

According to Davenport, Gregson and the other coaches he’s had along the way at Vets did their job. Over his career, he grew to love the game and became a team player, growing into a more mature role as a senior this spring.

“I think the coaches did a great job of getting everyone to fall in love with the sport, regardless of a winning season or losing season,” Davenport said.

Vets started its lacrosse program in 2009, and compiled two winning seasons over the course of its existence.

Gregson noted that his fondest memory during his tenure as coach came in 2013, when the ’Canes earned a program-best 9-3 record and made it all the way to the Division III semifinals.

Unfortunately, Vets won’t get the chance to take the next step and win a title in the future.

Now, it will all be a memory.

“It’s sad that the program’s ending,” Gregson reiterated. “It’s not just three guys leaving, it’s 20. I think Hurricane lacrosse as a whole will be my favorite memory.”