The Carlmont Scots varsity boys lacrosse team prevailed over the Gunn Titans in a 16-3 victory on Tuesday, March 4.
The game marked the season opener for both schools, with the Scots coming off an 11-7 overall record in the 2024 season and the Titans coming off with an 11-5 overall record.
The Scots were quick to attack, pushing the pace of the game, and subsequently took a quick 3-0 lead by the midpoint of the first quarter.
The Scots were able to turn quickly their defense into offense, forcing multiple defensive stops, and ultimately took a 4-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
“Our goalie, Xavier Piro, had a lights-out game as well,” said Carlmont head coach Todd Irwin. “He had great clears, which is how we transitioned from saving the ball to going into offense.”
The Scots came out strong at the start of the second quarter. Despite a scramble for the ball, Carlmont senior Keoki Firenze obtained possession following the faceoff and outmaneuvering three Gunn defenders, sprinting down the center of the field. With the momentum, Firenze quickly launched an overhead pass to a waiting Carlmont senior, Jacob Rybkin, who snuck the ball behind the goalie.
“In lacrosse, it all starts at the face-off X, and our face-off team of Keoki Firenze and Daedalus did a great job on the face-off X,” Irwin said. “That’s where it starts, that gives you possession, and from there, our offense was rolling especially our attack.”
As the half ran down, Carlmont senior Bear Ryan threw a flip pass to a running Carlmont senior James Mauck, who then took a shot on goal, which bounced on the ground before going in. The goal gave the Scots a 6-0 lead coming into halftime.
The Titans quickly found a sense of rhythm at the start of the third quarter after a feeder pass led to a behind-the-back goal by the Titans, making the score 6-1.
“Our leaders and experienced players gave what the best they could right,” said Gunn head coach Jose Velasquez. “They picked up our players that are new and were really helpful in trying to teach them the game tonight.”
However, it was only the Scots from there as they proceeded to go on a 5-0 run midway through the third quarter. During the run, Ryan bulldozed through a Titan defender to get possession of the ball before making two defenders miss and making a successful shot on goal.
“Our defense and transition game is way better than last year,” Ryan said. “We have playmakers on offense, and I think we feel pretty dialed right now.”
The Titans successfully responded with a goal from Gunn junior Zachary Michelson midway through the third quarter. However, the Titans failed to gain traction on the growing Scots lead, and they began the fourth quarter down 12-2.
The Scots pushed the score to 15-2 with goals from Mauck, Carlmont senior Joshua Juliano, and Carlmont senior Lucas Brown before Michelson scored again to halt the Scots run.
However, it proved insufficient as Carlmont senior Noah Franklin delivered the final blow with a goal late in the fourth quarter.
Ryan hopes that the strong start for the Scots is a sign of more of what’s to come for the team.
“I think we’re probably one of the top, most physical teams in the league. And then, of course, the defense is just locks, absolute locks,” Ryan said. “We made CCS last year for the first time as a program. This team’s better, I think, so I think we should be making it again his year.”
