Week of 4/21
I am still exhausted. My voice is still hoarse from yelling. My mind is still returning to our HK game under the lights. 5/16/17 was the last time we beat HK, Coach Hespler was still coaching. That’s six years, 12 games of straight losses. And I am confident we didn’t play our best lacrosse that night.
But what a game! As I told the boys, everyone from our goalie Cole to our defense to midfield to attack, everyone had to play at a high level. We were evenly matched and this was our first win where we were out-ground balled (30 to 41), we lost more face-offs (11-13), yet we still out shot them (56-25) and forced their goalie to make 23 saves! I cannot wait of the rematch. The bench made an impact in the game as well - everyone contributed.
This coming week, we’ll work on our errors to improve for next time. Thankfully, we have an easier week with 2 home games that will see our entire roster get to play. The week shapes up like this:
Monday, practice 2:45-5
Tuesday, home game vs. Cromwell, 6:30pm start, 5:30pm warm ups. No JV (Cromwell doesn’t have the numbers), however, JV players will play varsity in the second half.
Wednesday, practice 2:45-5
Thursday, 4/25, home vs Old Lyme, 4pm game, warm ups at 3pm. No JV (note: this was originally a night game). Again, I expect JV players to be ready to get in the second half.
Friday, practice 3-5
Saturday, TBD
As we sit today, 8-1 we’ve clinched a state playoff berth and our chances in the Shoreline Conference are looking good as well. The conference will seed teams based on records. We are currently 5-0 on the Shoreline and currently ranked, #1.
For state playoffs, their seeding is done by Laxnumbers. This system is based on teams winning 40% of their schedule and mathematically ranks teams schedules to try to provide a fair field of play. There, we’re currently ranked #7 in the state (HK is #5 as they have a slightly harder schedule).
What this all means is simple: we’re playing well because the boys have put years into playing at this level and building our program into something that is feared in our conference and soon to be in the state class. There’s a lot of trust on the field and I see our season making a long run into June for States. I am incredibly proud of this group.
