High School Lacrosse
REGULAR SEASON
MARCH 21, 2007
Crimsons shine under Wednesday night lights
By NATHAN CHAMBERS
BeyondTheDerby.com
The Manual High School boys’ lacrosse team has hit prime time.
Newly cast in a varsity role, the Crimsons made their much-anticipated debut at Manual Stadium - an 83-year-old venue heretofore closed to them as a club team - and commanded the spotlight in a 17-12 win over Kentucky Lacrosse Association Division 1 rival Ballard on Wednesday night.
“Under the lights? You’ve gotta love that,” Manual’s Josh Salzman said. “It’s been a long time coming.”
He could have said the same about beating the Bruins, who had not lost a game in this rivalry since a group of Manual kids started a lacrosse team under the name Apache in 2002.
“This is a great way to start it off here,” Manual’s Brian Gordon said. “There’s nothing better than a win against them in a home opener - and a pretty convincing win. It feels really good.”
Gordon’s stick was one of the reasons the Crimsons (1-1) made it so convincing. He scored seven goals, which he said was a career high against Division 1 teams, and assisted on three others.
“My teammates were really spreading out, giving me open room to go to the goal,” Gordon said.
Ballard head coach Cole Sigmon thought his own players gave Gordon and the Crimsons open room, too, allowing too many clear shots at besieged goalie Jeremy Stein (15 saves). Eleven of Manual’s goals were unassisted.
“It’s all about execution,” Sigmon said. “The other team executed, and we didn’t. The plans that the coaches put in were not followed.”
It started to unravel for the Bruins (0-2) in the second quarter. Ballard’s Paul Fischer scored his third goal with 8:04 left in the period, tying it at 6. But the Crimsons scored the next six goals - including four before halftime - and led 12-6 in the middle of the third quarter.
The Bruins were held scoreless for nearly 16 minutes.
It must be noted that attackman Austin Seiz - who has the best stick skills on the team, according to Sigmon - sat out the game with an injury. Midfielder Jason Pulliam also didn’t play, and defenseman Paul Diemer will miss the season after undergoing knee surgery.
“That hurt a little bit,” Sigmon said. “But three guys can’t win a game. They can help in key situations, but you have to win as a team.”
Fischer finished with three goals and two assists. Teammate David Spielberg had three goals, all of which he scored in the second half, and three assists. Brett Madigan also scored three goals, and Tyler Bowlin, Hunter Smith, and Robert Muir each scored one.
Salzman had four goals and two assists for Manual, which also got three goals from Drew Schulz, two from Louis Guagliordo, and one from Matt Brendel. Alexander Melnykovych (seven saves) and Chris Hamilton (two saves) split time in goal.
Manual’s head coach, Patrick Buckridge, could not attend the game. So assistant coach Bill Jackson, who admitted that he’s still learning the sport, tried to soak in the experience.
“The guys were excited about playing at Manual Stadium,” he said. “There’s something magical about playing here, it’s been here so long. The kids would like to play them all here.”