Lacrosse team dominates opener

Sisters dominated from end line to end line from the opening whistle to the last in their 10-2 win over Thurston on Tuesday, March 11. The victory was sweet for the Outlaws who vividly remember last season when Thurston came out on top 14-3.

Senior Nate Emberton led the offense in goals, putting five in the net. Emberton broke the ice for the Outlaws with an amazing shot to score the first goal of the game.

"Nate had his back to the goal when he picked up a loose ball and shot it between his legs," said Coach Bill Rexford. "It's not something I coach the boys because I can't coach what I can't do. In front of the goal, it can get pretty scary, as sticks are flying and bodies are dropping, so to have the presence of mind to pull off that shot takes a pretty special guy."

Emberton said: "I was pretty nervous coming into the game. They (Thurston) beat us bad last year, and to face them in our opening game was tough. But, we settled into our offense right away, and after that first goal I knew we could handle it and that it was going to be a good game."

Marcus Gaboni also had a stellar game with four goals and two assists. Ashton Sims contributed two assists in the game and drew several penalties.

"Our first line of Dom (Nieri), Shawn (Maurer) and Carroll (Gryder) were relentless on defense and dominated ground balls. Our second line of Jordan Kolb (who also scored a goal), Lucas Rietmann and Marc Peck were moving well and playing with confidence, and the third line of Stephen Connolly, David Liming and Danny Baldwin got plenty of minutes and ran hard," said Rexford.

Thad Anderson did a tremendous job in the goal and had many tough saves.

The game ball went to Gaboni, not for his points scored on the field but for his sportsmanship.

"A Thurston player was frustrated and came out with two violent, but glancing, blows to Marcus' head," said Rexford. "Marcus did not retaliate. In fact, when other players came to his defense, he kept them from retaliating, and the Thurston player left the field for good."