The boys’ lacrosse team opened their season clashing against the Montgomery Blair Blazers. The off-season rust seemed apparent as penalties riddled the WJ team. Each putting a player in the penalty box, these penalties forced the Cats to rely on their strong defense to pull out the win.
“Even though we were sloppy on both sides of the ball, it felt great to be back out on the field and pull out the dub,” junior Ian Perry said.
A 1-0 start to the season looked to bring the Cats the extra motivation needed to knock off one of the top teams in the region. This motivation seemed to be the key for the Cats in the first half, as they came out and stunned the Bulldogs. However, a 6-2 halftime lead was not enough to hold off the Bulldogs. A lack of offensive possession control allowed Churchill to storm back and take over the Cats 7-6.
“We came out super hot and played together as a team,” Junior Corey Dooren said. “We have to play the full 60 [minutes] as a team.”
Trying to right the ship would be even tougher against a dominant Whitman team. Unlike the Churchill game, the Vikings came out hot and overwhelmed the Cats. An uncompetitive 14-3 final score knocked the Cats down to a losing record of 1-2.
Two straight losses against top teams in the region did not hold the Cats down for very long, as WJ hosted Northwood. The Cats flipped the script as they dominated the Knights with a final score of 14-3.
“Obviously, losing sucks. Especially against your rivals in such a hard-fought game like the one against Churchill. It isn’t fun,” sophomore Luke Notaro said. “It was nice to get a win Saturday, especially the way we did and how well everyone played. It was a big turnaround from our two previous games.”
Following the Northwood blowout, the Cats hosted cross-town rival B-CC on Monday, March 31. With just three minutes expired in the first quarter, the Barons broke the 0-0 score with a goal. Just minutes later, looming thunderstorms and heavy showers sparked an eventual postponement. This duel will resume on April 8th, with the Barons still up 1-0 in the first quarter.
A 2-3 Cats record will be put to the test with a tough upcoming stretch. The Cats will have four games over a six-day period, which will certainly test the boys’ endurance.
