The Archbishop Riordan Crusaders conquered the Carlmont Scots JV lacrosse team in a 9-1 victory. After this tough game, the Scots have found places that need improvement. However, it doesn’t represent Carlmonts future as they will continue to improve.
The game started and ended in the first quarter. After an intense back and forth, Riordan struck first and, with momentum in their favor, followed it up with two more scores. The Scots went from being tied with the Crusaders to suffering a huge lead in one minute.
“When a team goes on a fast break, and they’re able to capitalize, It does hit morale,” said Chris Agbanusi, Carlmont’s head coach. “But that’s why we have to stay strong and know that at any point in time, like any other sport, you can always come back.”
Carlmont tightened up their play after these three goals and held off the Riordian brigade until the end of the first quarter. The two teams seemed evenly matched, and tension grew as scoreless minutes ticked past. The Scots still needed to start the second quarter off with a score to keep a reasonable chance to stay in the game.
Unfortunately, the opposite happened. Midway through the second quarter Riordan scored their fourth goal of the game while Carlmont was a man down. Two minutes later, the Crusaders followed it up with another score.
“It wore me down,” said Braeden Kumer, sophomore defender. “It was just frustrating; that’s the biggest thing.”
The Scots tried to resist the Crusader’s offense, but they could not stop the points from trickling in. During the third and fourth quarters, Riordan’s lead grew to 9-0, and a Crusader victory was inevitable. The only question was whether the game would end in a shutout. However, with about a minute left in the match, Carlmont’s persistence paid off as they put up a point of their own.
Although Carlmont was able to save themselves from a scoreless game, the potential for improvement is apparent. The season is still early, so they will have time to get better, but it will not be easy.
“As a team, we were not really connected and were not really winning many games. People need to do work on their own,” said Owen Livesay, a sophomore attacker.
Despite the loss, the Scots want to continue to give it their all throughout the rest of the year. If they continue to work hard, they will get better. Carlmont matched Riordan in many ways and proved they can still turn around their season.
“We’re just going to keep progressing; the score and how this game went is not indicative of how our season is going to go,” Agbanusi said. “We can only go up from here.”
