High School Lacrosse
POSTSEASON
May 16, 2007
Archrivals St. X, Trinity emerge from semi fights
By
NATHAN CHAMBERS
BeyondTheDerby.com
The challengers threw some great punches in the Kentucky Lacrosse Association High School Boys’ Division 1 semifinals on Wednesday.
But the champions threw the knockout blows.
St. Xavier, which won the first three KLA titles, scored three goals in the first 132 seconds of the third quarter to pull away from Tates Creek in a 12-9 win at Thurman Hutchins Park.
And Trinity, which has won the last three KLA titles, broke a tie with Collegiate in the third quarter and rolled to a 16-9 win at Marshall Stadium.
So the archrivals will meet in the final for the third time in four years at Marshall Stadium on Friday. Trinity, the top seed in the tournament, smacked second-seeded St. X 12-5 in their regular-season meeting on April 18.
“Hopefully we’ll put on a better show than we did last time,” St. X senior Charlie Helm said.
Expect the Shamrocks to be ready.
“We have 22 seniors, we’re playing our archrival, we’re playing on our home field, and we have the prospect of possibly winning four titles,” Trinity coach Pete Schroeder said. “I’m not worried about getting them up for it.”
Tates Creek-St. X
St. X (10-1) is back in the final after losing in the semifinals - to Trinity - for the first time in the brief history of the KLA last season.
“We expect to be in the final. We work to be in the final,” St. X coach Scott Howe said. “We’re right where we want to be.”
But it wasn’t easy to get there. Third-seeded Tates Creek led 5-4 in the second quarter, with senior Tanner Bond - the KLA’s leading scorer this season - accounting for two goals and assisting on each of the other three.
The Tigers turned the game around quickly enough. Seniors Travis Marcum and Winston Arnold each scored before the end of the second quarter, pushing St. X ahead 6-5. Helm then scored two goals and assisted junior Connor McGetrick on another at the beginning of the third quarter for a 9-5 lead.
“That really helped,” Howe said, referring to Helm’s contributions. “Coming out of the gate in the second half, he really set the tone. I think that knocked (Tates Creek) for a loop.”
Bond assisted junior John Osbourne and senior Adam Weldy on back-to-back goals late in the third quarter, but St. X sophomore Chase Carraro got one back with 0:31 left in the period.
Bond scored with 6:11 remaining in the game, drawing Tates Creek within two again. But McGetrick answered with a goal three minutes later, and Carraro put it away when he scored to make it 12-8 with 0:30 to go. Sophomore Mick Maynard tallied Tates Creek’s last goal with 0:09 on the clock.
“Even though we were down by four at the end, we came back and got another - and we almost got another after that,” Tates Creek coach Andrew Tarter said. “We never gave up until the final whistle.”
Carraro finished with two goals and three assists for St. X, and Arnold had three goals and one assist. McGetrick and Helm each had two goals and an assist, Marcum scored twice, and McGetrick’s twin brother Eamon had a goal and two assists. Sophomore goalie Aaron Benz made eight saves.
Bond had three goals and five assists for Tates Creek. Senior Conner Jonas scored twice, Osbourne had a goal and an assist, and senior Kent Mulberry scored one. Junior goalie Paul Hauser made five saves.
Tates Creek, which fielded its first team in 2005, won the Division 2 title last season and finished with a 7-4 record in its Division 1 debut.
“These guys had a heck of a season,” Tarter said. “They should be proud of their efforts and of what they accomplished.”
Collegiate-Trinity
Fifth-seeded Collegiate gave Trinity (11-0) all it could handle for most of three quarters - notably longer than in the 14-5 loss in the teams’ game on April 25, when the Titans jumped ahead 4-0.
Collegiate led 5-2 with 9:40 left in the first half. The Shamrocks scored four straight goals to take a 6-5 lead into halftime (Collegiate had one disallowed with 2:55 left in the half), but freshman Joe Lang’s goal with 4:29 left in the third quarter pulled the Titans into a 7-7 tie.
“They came ready to play,” said Schroeder, whose team was out-shot 11-3 in the first quarter. “That’s a credit to their players and their coaches. I told our guys and anybody who would listen that it would be a better game this time, and it was.”
But Trinity’s firepower eventually prevailed. The Shamrocks, who eventually out-shot Collegiate 32-29, led 10-7 at the end of the third quarter and led 13-8 midway through the fourth.
“Lately we’ve been having slow starts,” Trinity senior Sean Medley said. “It’s just a matter of willpower. We’re definitely capable of beating any team by a good amount. But everybody has to come to play.”
Medley and senior Mike Duffy scored 11 goals between them. Duffy had six, and Medley had five with an assist.
“Those guys have been huge all year,” Schroeder said. “They can really finish. I thought they were a little jittery at the beginning of the game, but they settled down and did a great job.”
Also for Trinity, senior Walker Price scored one and assisted on four, seniors Tim George and Jay Buschmeyer each had a goal and an assist, and seniors Dan Weber and Ed Wunderlin each scored once. Senior goalie Greg Donahue was strong, making 11 saves.
Sophomore Carson Pfeifer had three goals and an assist for Collegiate. Junior William Hornaday had three assists, Lang and senior Mike Imburgia - who scored the most goals in the KLA this season - each scored twice, senior Linkon Altman had a goal and an assist, and senior Will Cary scored once. Freshman goalie Clayton Brown made sevens saves.
Like Tates Creek, Collegiate has had a varsity team for just three years and went 7-4 this season - a record that includes a 14-8 win over 2006 runner-up Lexington Catholic in the quarterfinals on Monday.
“I’m proud of them, so proud of them,” Collegiate coach Tom Windham said of his players.