Boys Lacrosse vs Santa Barbara High School

Cate took on the Dons from SB High this afternoon on the lower field and earned a decisive 11-3 win.

We played our most complete game to date and are beginning to see some of this team’s big potential start to come to fruition. It was especially exciting to have so many parents on our sidelines as our young guys had a chance to show what they’ve learned over the past month of practice.

Jack Whelan ’23 set the tone early for us on the face-off X, winning 4 of the 6 draws in the first quarter. Pen Brooks ’24 also helped us significantly from the wing spot, netting an additional 3 ground balls on the day.

After a slow start on offense, Harry McAdam ’23 got things going with a slick re-dodge after the defense collapsed, finding a clear lane across the goal that drew the goalie off his line for an easy finish. Xander Murray-Osborne ’22 then followed with three more quick goals with a mix of outside shots and clean drives to the net. The defense played a steady quarter, but lapsed on a 2nd slide, allowing the Dons to slip one in just before the end of the first period.

Although we were able to dominate possession in the second quarter thanks to some great possession lacrosse from our offense and solid pressure defense, we had trouble generating good shots, netting only two more goals before halftime. SB was able to notch one more from a low-angle shot on a man-up play.

We broke through a bit more regularly in the third, finding a better offensive rhythm and stringing together some nice assists including a rocket from Harry to Alex in tight space.

The fourth quarter gave us a great chance to let some newer players take the reins on offense. Elliott Murray-Osborne, Wade Nieman ’23, and Albert Barber ’21 were all able to generate some solid looks but weren’t able to get past SB’s tenacious keeper. We saw some flashes of good, coordinated offensive play from Kyle Park ’24 and Crosby Rosenthal ’24 as well, with well-timed motion that helped push the defense off balance. On the other end of the field, Burak Yanar ’24 earned two nice saves to just one goal against. We capped the day with a rocket from Jasper Bennett ’21 from long range before Harry helped us close out the win with a 3-minute possession in which he ran through about a hundred hard checks.

All three goalies (Adrian Binns ’21, Yanar, and SB’s #12) had great games and were fun to watch.

Cate’s defense deserves major praise for having incorporated the major adjustments we made last week. We set good angles on approach and continued to play solid, body defense. Kristian Scurtis ’24, James Marin ’21, Will Bouma ’22, Peter Coors ’21, Barber, Emil Strauss ’21, Whelan, and Ned Sigler ’21 all managed to take the ball away from their marks in 1-1 press plays, showcasing their collectively off-the-charts athleticism.

This wasn’t a flashy game, but we did a lot of the little things right. We controlled the ground ball game 28-17 (Bouma with an insane 7 gbs), protected the crease on defense, and managed long possessions on offense (eventually…).

We’re looking forward to a home game against the typically very athletic Grace Brethren Wednesday at 4:30 and the generally very strong San Marcos Royals next Friday night in Goleta.