High School Lacrosse
POSTSEASON
May 18, 2007
Trinity beats archrival St. X to fourth KLA title
By
ANDREW OSTING
For BeyondTheDerby.com
Trinity - not archrival St. Xavier - became the first four-time high school champion in the short history of the Kentucky Lacrosse Association on Friday, winning the Boys’ Division 1 title with a 9-7 victory over the Tigers in front of more than 4,000 fans at Marshall Stadium.
The Shamrocks have won each of the last four titles and have beaten St. X - which won the first three from 2001-03 - in three of the finals to do it.
“I had the chance to win my fourth state title, on my home field, and against my bitter rival, St. X,” said Trinity senior Mike Duffy (pictured, surrounded by St. X player). “It couldn’t have been any better.”
Duffy and senior Sean Medley each scored three goals to lead the Shamrocks (12-0). Duffy also had an assist. Seniors David Thompson and Dan Weber each had a goal and an assist, and senior Walker Price scored once.
Trinity’s senior goalie, Greg Donahue, made 12 saves and was named the Most Valuable Player.
Senior Charlie Helm scored four goals for the Tigers (10-2), whose only other setback in the KLA this season was a 12-5 loss to Trinity on April 18. They made a better run at the Shamrocks on Friday, rallying from an early 3-0 deficit to tie it at 4-4 in the second quarter.
But Trinity scored three of the next four goals - including one with 0:08 left in the quarter - to take a 7-5 lead into halftime and then stretched the advantage to 9-5 before the end of the third quarter.
The Tigers tried to rally again, scoring twice in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, but penalties slowed them late.
“I thought we had a lot of momentum going there for us at the end,” St. X coach Scott Howe said. “It’s hard to beat a good team, though, when you are down two and three men at a time.”
Seniors Winston Arnold and Jonathan Bickel and junior Connor McGetrick each scored a goal for the Tigers. Sophomore goalie Aaron Benz made eight saves.
Trinity had 22 seniors, a few of whom played on the 2004 team that won the first of the four titles. The Shamrocks won 51 of 52 games against KLA opponents during their careers.
“We will be losing 22 seniors, but our underclassmen, I feel, will be able to step in for them and lead us to our fifth straight championship,” Trinity coach Pete Schroeder said.
(Nathan Chambers contributed to this story. Photo by Kenny Link.)