The boys lacrosse team beat the Palo Alto Vikings 8-6 in a nail-biter game on Thursday night.
The Bears started the game fast with senior faceoff Eric Torre securing possession of the ball. Just 18 seconds into the game, junior attacker Carey Wolf was able to find senior attacker Colin Kryger by the goal, who easily sank a shot in.
Utilizing their momentum, the Bears stayed relentless on offense by continuing to get multiple good shots off. Despite some good saves from the Vikings, M-A was finally successful after senior midfielder Spencer Cadigan whipped one past the keeper and into the back of the net, setting the score at 2-0.
As the first quarter was winding down, the Bears started to find more trouble both offensively and defensively due to intense pressure from the Vikings. Despite strong defense and saves from sophomore Teddy Honerkamp and senior goalkeeper Olivier Yuk that held off the Vikings’ persistent attacks, a lucky shot rolled in, putting the score at 2-1 to end the first quarter.
Going into the second quarter, both the Bears and Vikings locked in on defense, preventing each other from getting any good shots off, resulting in an eight-minute standstill. Desperate for a goal, a spin move from Kryger allowed him to shake off a Paly defender and find a hole between the goalkeeper’s legs, putting the Bears up 3-1.
Following Kryger’s lead, 30 seconds later, junior midfielder Bruno Szollar capitalized on a gap in the Vikings’ defense and swiftly added another point to the scoreboard, 4-1.
Despite this, due to the Bears lack of focus on defense in the last two minutes, Paly was able to easily score two more goals before the end of the half, cutting M-A’s lead down to 4-3.
Kicking off the second half, the Bears started with possession of the ball, giving them ample scoring opportunities. Even so, they were unable to land a shot before turning it over, largely due to many great saves by the Vikings’ goalkeeper. Strong defensive pressure would hold off Paly from scoring, but eventually they managed to break through and put a shot in, tying the game up with eight minutes to go in the third quarter.
The Vikings continued to be relentless on offense, using their speed to get good shots off. However, more impressive saves from Yuk would prevent them from taking the lead. Back on offense, the Bears were getting mauled by the intense defensive pressure they faced. Nonetheless, Szollar was able to break out of the scrap battle by shooting a pass to Kryger, who nailed one in and gave M-A the lead once again, 5-4.
However, this was short lived, as Paly quickly bounced back, running past defenders to get a goal of their own, tying the game at 5-5 with five minutes left. The scoring frenzy continued, as the Bears followed with another goal from Kryger and one from Szollar, giving M-A a more comfortable 7-5 lead as the quarter came to a close.
Tensions were high as the fourth quarter started, with the Vikings making dirty plays on defense as a desperate attempt to stop the Bears from finding the net. Szollar, not backing down from the physicality, retaliated by hitting a clean shot and extending the lead to 8-5.
Even though the Vikings were able to get a goal for themselves, their last-ditch efforts were in vain as M-A kept possession of the ball and let the clock run out to secure the 8-6 win.
“I think today our biggest highlight was the second half. We got the energy up, we got the hype up, and that really allowed us to come out with the win today,” Szollar said.
“Paly came into it mentally prepared, and they just wanted it more than us today,” Honerkamp said. “That’s why this score was 8-6 and the last was 10-2, but we will make sure to dial in for the next game.”
The Bears will return to the field against the Hillsdale Knights on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
