High School Lacrosse
REGULAR SEASON
APRIL 18, 2007
Shamrocks rock solid in rivalry romp over St. X
By
NATHAN CHAMBERS
BeyondTheDerby.com
Trinity High School lacrosse coach Pete Schroeder dutifully played hard-to-please on Wednesday night after the three-time defending Kentucky Lacrosse Association Division 1 champion Shamrocks indulged their hungry home crowd with a 12-5 win over archrival St. Xavier at Marshall Stadium.
“We’re good for now, but we’ve got to get better,” Schroeder insisted. “We have a lot of room for improvement. The way we’re playing now is not good enough to win the state title.”
After watching Trinity (8-2 overall, 5-0 KLA) dismantle St. X (9-5 overall, 4-1 KLA), however, it probably was difficult for anyone among the estimated 2,500 fans to think that the Shamrocks could look much better.
Trinity had not played since a 9-1 loss to Dublin (Ohio) Coffman on April 5, a 13-day layoff. But the Shamrocks shook off the rust immediately, maintaining possession in St. X’s end for almost all of the first two-and-a-half minutes before scoring four goals within the next four minutes.
The Shamrocks did that again in the fourth quarter, scoring four goals in another four-minute span to finish off the Tigers for the fourth straight time.
“We played great team ball,” senior Walker Price said. “We wanted to win. We really wanted this one.”
Trinity’s opening and closing salvos confounded St. X coach Scott Howe. The Tigers had played five games against top-notch out-of-state teams during spring break and, despite losing four of those games, were competitive in all but one.
“I was very encouraged by what we got done last week,” said Howe, who declined to comment after the game but spoke on the phone on Thursday. “That’s why last night was so disappointing. Every expectation I had was not reflected in that game.”
Schroeder and several of his players remarked that the big show of support from the Trinity community - and from Sacred Heart Academy, one made sure to point out - worked to their advantage.
“The atmosphere is what pushed us to win by that kind of margin,” senior Andrew Purdie said. “You really could feel it out there.”
The Shamrocks rode what Howe called “the first wave” to a quick 4-0 lead. Senior Kyle Hallion scored twice, and junior Scott Edelen and senior Jay Buschmeyer also scored. Trinity out-shot the Tigers 12-2 in the first quarter, putting eight shots on sophomore goalie Aaron Benz (8 saves).
“That was unbelievable,” Purdie said. “After that, we never looked back. Momentum was pushing us from behind the whole time. There was no way we were going to give that up.”
Both teams scored two goals in each of the second and third quarters, which were much more evenly played, and St. X trimmed the lead to 7-4 with 6:19 to go in the third.
But Trinity senior Mike Duffy made it 8-4 with 2:01 left in the quarter. Duffy and Price then scored two goals apiece in the final period as the Shamrocks rollicked to a 12-4 lead.
“We got it to Walker and Duffy in the fourth and let them create,” Schroeder said. “They really shut the door on the game.”
Howe thought his players slammed the door shut on themselves.
“Instead of playing another 12 (minutes), they kind of said, ‘Oh well, we lost,’” he said. “We didn’t play four full quarters. We had guys who didn’t show up in the fourth quarter.”
Junior Eamon McGetrick had two goals and an assist for St. X. Senior Travis Marcum had a goal and an assist, and senior Charlie Helm and sophomore Chase Carraro each scored once.
Trinity, which has allowed just 13 goals in five KLA games, out-shot the Tigers 30-24 overall and limited them to 12 shots on senior goalie Greg Donahue (7 saves).
“We wanted to take away a couple things that they do well, and we did that,” said Schroeder, who credited assistant coach David Purdie - Andrew’s father - for the team’s defensive prowess this season.
Duffy, a first-team all-state midfielder last season who has been moved to attack, finished with four goals and an assist for the Shamrocks. Price had three goals and an assist. Senior David Thompson (pictured above) also scored, and senior Sean Medley - who had a team-high 21 points in four previous KLA games - had two assists.
Trinity has outscored the Tigers 43-15 in their last four meetings. More significant is the fact that the Shamrocks have outscored the two teams most likely to challenge them in the playoffs - St. X and Lexington Catholic - 20-7 this season, and those were there closest KLA games.
In other words, the Shamrocks look almost unbeatable - and that, of course, is the last thing that Schroeder wants his players to believe.
“Our coach does a good job of that,” Duffy said. “He congratulates us when we deserve to be congratulated, but he keeps it in our heads never to be satisfied. Our goal now is to win four in a row, and that would be a heck of an accomplishment.”