The Carlmont Scots varsity boys lacrosse team defeated the Hillsdale Knights 7-6 in a down-to-the-wire battle on Thursday, April 24.
Following the win, the Scots sit in fifth place in the league with a 1-5 record and are 5-5 overall. The Knights are right behind the Scots in sixth place with a 1-6 record in the league and are 6-8 overall.
The Knights entered the game with lots of physicality and energy. This allowed them to get early looks at the goal from Hillsdale senior Charlie Aguirre and others, which Carlmont goalie, sophomore Xavier Piro, defended well.
“Xavier Piro had kept us in the game,” said Carlmont head coach Todd Irwin. “In the first half, he had a lot of amazing saves, he was clearing the ball well, and was just solid the whole way through.”
The Knights’ following shot proved more successful, as Hillsdale junior Nicco Davis weaved his way through defenders to put the first points on the board.
After going scoreless in the first quarter, the Scots hoped to find their offensive rhythm. However, they were met with lots of back-and-forth at the start of the second quarter. It wasn’t until midway through the second half that Carlmont senior Noah Franklin put the first points on the board for the Scots.
The Scots built upon their momentum with another goal from Franklin, followed by Carlmont senior Lucas Brown, turning the game in their favor, now leading 3-1.
“Our communication was great,” said Carlmont junior Ian Kim. “We played together as a team and combined as one.”
The Knights quickly responded to the Scots’ 3-0 run with the help of their physical defense and successful stick checks. Hillsdale senior Josh Bernard was able to pass it to Aguirre in stride, who was able to score, bringing the score to 3-2 at halftime.
Coming out of the break, the Knights were able to tie 3-3 after Hillsdale senior Anthony Vause was able to dodge two Carlmont defenders before dishing it to Aguirre for his second goal.
However, the Scots halted the Knights’ comeback as Franklin scored all three of the Scots’ goals in the third quarter. The most notable of them was from over 20 yards out, which led to roars from the bench and crowd.
The Scots maintained their defensive stand into the fourth quarter as Piro defended against back-to-back shots by the Knights. Despite being down 6-3, the Knights began to fight back following another goal from Aguirre.
“We were just trying to get a possession back on the offensive side and then push the ball and try and get a good couple quick looks,” said Hillsdale assistant coach Kevin McAnerney.
The Scots responded after Keoki Firenze caught a pass and scored mid-air following an assist from Carlmont senior Jacob Rybkin with five minutes remaining in the game.
The Knights brought the score up to 7-6 with the Bernard and Aguirre with a minute-and-a-half remaining. The Scots then played keep-away while following the ‘get it in, keep it in’ rule. In order to discourage boring, defensive play during close games, the rule states that the attacking team must enter the defenders’ restraining box within 10 seconds of gaining possession, and that once they enter, they must keep the ball within the box, with leaving resulting in a turnover.
“We worked on the ‘get it in, keep it in’, three nights last week, because we expected this game to be close,” Irwin said. “By doing that, we were able to protect our lead, burn some clock, and then just play good defense at the end, when it counted.”
Despite the loss, McAnerney still holds a lot of belief in his team and their potential.
“It’s been a rough year, but they just got to support each other and keep battling through the hard times,” McAnerney said.
Though the Scots’ season is nearing its end, Irwin reflected on how strong their team has become.
“We’ve got a number of injured players who are some of our starters, and the full team just really stepped it up — not just tonight, but really over the last several nights of practice,” Irwin said.
