The Carlmont Scots varsity boys lacrosse team lost to the Palo Alto Vikings 4-2 in a nail-biting season finisher on senior night on Thursday, May 8.
The game started with senior night festivities, with each Scots player getting a special shoutout from head coach Todd Irwin before the beginning face-off.
The game started slowly with possession going back and forth between the two teams until the Vikings finally broke through late in the first quarter to put them 1-0 up heading into the second quarter.
The Scots wasted no time at the start of the second with a shot from a distance by senior Noah Franklin, which was slotted past the Palo Alto goalkeeper. The first half ended with multiple saves from Carlmont sophomore goalie Xavier Piro to keep the game level-headed into halftime. Piro reflects on his mentality heading into this game in order to come up with big saves.
“Honestly, my mindset doesn’t change much game to game, I just focus on making the save and moving on to the next one,” Piro said.
The third quarter kicked off with another goal from the Vikings, putting them back in the driver’s seat. Not long after, senior Jacob Rybkin managed to squeeze through the defense to put the Scots and Vikings back on level terms.
Just as the game looked like it was headed into overtime with four minutes left to play, the Scots defense crumbled, letting the Vikings slip through and score two to seal the game away.
“One thing we focused on in this game was adjusting our defense to better suit the matchups that we faced in our first game against Palo Alto. It was a lot closer today, and that’s due in part to our defensive game plan,” said Carlmont assistant coach Gabe Crespin.
With this loss, the Scots finished the season in fifth place, 1-8 in league games and 5-8 overall, with their previous win coming in the league against the Hillsdale Knights.
“Obviously the outcome isn’t what we wanted. I love these boys, we’re essentially a family, but it’s sad that this is the way we have to go out. I’m really proud of how we played throughout this game and the camaraderie we’ve had this season,” Piro said.
Franklin added to Piro’s sentiment, speaking about his favorite memories from the season.
“I would probably say my favorite memory was our 7-6 win against Hillsdale. It was a close game, and we played well that night,” Franklin said.
