Outlaws lacrosse comes from behind to win

Beau Fitzke scored four of his five goals in the fourth quarter to help Sisters come from behind and beat Mt. View 9-8 on Friday, April 8.

The first half of the contest, both teams fought hard but played very sloppy lacrosse.

"We were both trying so hard," said Coach Bill Rexford. "The energy and effort was there but neither team played clean or precise."

The Outlaws found themselves down 4-2 at the half due to sloppiness on offense which forced their midfielders to play out of position. The Outlaws were out of sync and couldn't get into the flow of the game.

"We made lots of mistakes, and the more mistakes we made the tighter we played," said Rexford. "I could see my guys just gripping their sticks. They wanted it so bad they were slamming their heads against the wall instead of thinking of how they could get around it. And Mt. View was definitely a wall. They are one of the biggest teams I've seen."

The Outlaws worked through the adversity, and the wall finally came down.

Sisters forged ahead to score seven goals in the second half and win by one in a final score of 9-8.

With nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter the Outlaws were down 7-2. Jacob Akaka caught the ball on the right side of the cage, ran through two defenders and scored a shot around Mt. View's goalie.

"Jacob got his goal and then relaxed," said Rexford. "The whole offense relaxed at that point and it got us back in the game."

Freshman Jacob Biber made a great defensive play late in the game to help nail down the win. Mt. View had the ball with one minute left on the clock when Biber checked the ball away, picked it up and made a pinpoint pass 40 yards down the field to William Saunders. Sisters was able to hold onto the ball and Mt. View was unable to get it back.

Fitzke finished the game with five goals and two assists. Jens Staldi, Jacob Akaka, Scott Nelson and Connor Morgan each scored one goal in the game.

Coach Rexford said, "I'm thrilled we can make so many mistakes and still win. Today was learning about how to make the most of your opportunities and not hold onto past mistakes. The team took each challenge as it came and our Outlaws effort made up for all the mistakes. To be behind 7-2 at the start of the second half and come back to win 9-8 was pretty cool."

A day later, the Outlaws showed they'd learned a few lessons in their game against Mt. View. Sisters played a great game of lacrosse in their 6-3 win over Riverdale, who the previous night beat Bend 11-6.

Beau Fitzke scored for the Outlaws just seconds into the game. Fitzke took the faceoff and just ran down the field and knocked it into the cage.

Rexford told The Nugget that after that goal Fitzke and the entire team relaxed.

Riverdale came back to tie the game at 1-1, but goals from Isaiah Glatz and Jacob Akaka gave Sisters a 3-1 lead at the half.

Fitzke scored two more goals in the second half and Akaka added another to give Sisters the 6-3 win.

Rexford commented on Akaka's goal in the second half.

"It was a very scrappy goal right in front of the cage," said Rexford. "Riverdale knocked it loose and Will Saunders recovered and dished it back to Akaka, who put it in. I like to see those scrappy goals just as much as the pretty ones."

The Outlaws were scheduled for a full week ahead with home games against Summit on Monday, April 11, and Bend on Tuesday, April 12. On Saturday, April 16, Sisters will travel to Roseburg.