Outlaws boys squad wins two lacrosse matches

The boys lacrosse squad travelled to Forest Grove (FG) on Friday, April 22, and defeated the Vikings 10-7. They were short players earlier in the week, and had to forfeit their game against Hillsboro.

Gus Patton got the Outlaws’ scoring started with a goal in the first minute and a half of Friday’s game against the Vikings. Sisters kept the Vikings scoreless for a long stretch before Patton scored again with 4:30 left in the quarter.

Teams headed into the final quarter with the Outlaws up by six goals.

Coach Paul Patton told The Nugget that their primary goal in the quarter was to possess the ball and run down the clock. They did a pretty good job doing that, but a couple of wayward passes gave FG some chances to score. The Vikings finished with three goals in the quarter, but Sisters held on for the win.

Patton and Kyle Pilarski led the team with four goals each. Patton only failed to win three face-offs the entire game, and also led the team in ground balls with nine. Hayden Kunz and Ian Landon were also strong on ground balls, and got seven each. Justin Blake had nine saved shots in the goal and was very active defending the outside crease, chasing down ground balls, and clearing the ball out of the Outlaws’ offensive zone.

Evan Martin played exhausting minutes as a middie, was especially strong on the defensive end, and picked up five ground balls as well. Lex Jeffrey stepped away from his usual goalie position, filled in as a long pole defender, and was a relentless nuisance to the opposing attackers.

Coach Patton said, “For the second game in a row we played with just 10 players, and no substitutes on the sidelines to rotate in and give players a break. Overall, we played really well for the first three quarters, and in the fourth took our foot off the gas. We were fairly exhausted from no subs, and they were able to rally with three goals. All 10 boys need to be commended for their endurance in playing a winning game without once coming off the field for a rest.”

A week earlier, on Saturday, April 15, the Outlaws defeated Sprague/South Salem 8-4.

The Outlaws were down to just 10 players, which meant they had zero subs available on the sideline, and all 10 had to play the entire game. Their opponents, who draw players from both Sprague and South Salem, had 25 players.

Sprague scored the first goal of the contest eight minutes into the first quarter, but Sisters evened the score a minute later when Pilarski, a long stick defender, took a run to the offensive end and scored from long range.

Cooper Merrill scored Sisters’ go-ahead goal 10 seconds into the second quarter, the first of four goals he would score in the game. A few minutes later Sprague knotted up the score and teams entered the half in a 2-2 tie.

The third quarter proved to be the decisive quarter in the contest. Gus Patton got the Outlaws off to a fast start with a give-and-go goal that was assisted by a short, lofted pass from Evan Martin just a minute into the quarter. Hayden Kunz stretched the lead to 4-2 halfway through the period. Merrill then went on a scoring frenzy with three consecutive goals. The first came off a pass from Martin at the four-minute mark, the next on a dodge move with three minutes left on the clock, and 10 seconds later he scored again after a face-off win by Patton and a fast break, which gave the Outlaws a commanding 7-2 advantage.

The Outlaws padded their lead a minute and a half into the final quarter, with a goal from Adam Maddox-Castle. From that point on Sisters focused on possessing the ball and taking time off the clock. Sprague did pick up two more goals, but Sisters prevailed and posted the

win.

Sisters’ defensive unit, Pilarski, Hunter Lea, Cole Peters, and Justin Blake, played exceptionally well the entire game, but especially in the third quarter when they, along with the defensive middies, held Sprague scoreless.

Coach Paul Patton said, “With just 10 players, we had to rotate them from one position to another, switching from the middie spots, which require running from one end of the field to the other, to either the attack end or the defensive end of the field. This meant we had players in roles they wouldn’t normally play in, but they did a commendable job.

“Cooper (Merrill) has to be recognized for having a breakout game with four goals, which came as a product of him asserting himself as our leading scorer,” added Patton. “Evan (Martin) had his best game of the season with a tireless effort all over the field that was illustrated by his team-leading six ground balls and two assists.”

Freshman and first-year player Cole Peters took up a long stick for the first time and filled the center spot of the defensive unit. Kunz also gave a valiant effort, exhausted himself on both ends of the field, and endured numerous collisions with opposing players.

Gus Patton was a central part of the team’s success as he was their main face-off guy, their second leading shot taker, and a steady short stick defender.

“Every one of these boys deserves to be recognized for their courageous performance in playing 48 minutes of demanding lacrosse, a game which usually runs substitutes in and out of the game on a minute-by-minute basis,” said Patton. “These young men earned a lot of respect from their opponents, both sets of coaches, and most of all, each

other.”

The Outlaws will match up against Bend JV at home on Wednesday, April 26, and then will travel to Corvallis on Friday.