Boys lacrosse team stands tall in loss to formidable OES

The Aardvarks’ reputation preceded them as they walked onto the field at Henderson Community Stadium, a team who had lost only one game in their 10 contests this season, is a perennially good program (currently ranked fourth in the state), and has multiple players who have committed to Division I schools.

And though they did end up losing, and never led in the league contest, the Eagles (3-4) never said die either, and made OES earn their 14-10 victory.

All Luchsinger asked of his kids was to play to the best of their abilities and fight. They delivered.

“I couldn’t be more proud of those kids right now,” he said. “They played with a lot of heart that game and they never gave up… the score shows a loss, but to me, that was a huge win for us.”

At first, it appeared that HRV might have a bloodbath on their hands, as the Aardvarks blitzed the Eagles early in the first quarter, sprinting to a 3-0 lead. Alex McAlpine, HRV’s faceoff maestro, did his job and helped the Eagles win a majority of draws, but was often doubled as soon as he left the circle, making it difficult for his team to set anything up.

“They got off to a great start, in my opinion, just because they were so aggressive… it surprised me and we weren’t ready for it,” Luchsinger said.

The Eagles pumped the brakes on OES’ momentum by adjusting to the pace of play and focusing on possessing the ball, patience, and rotating through offensive sets in an attempt to wear down the Aardvark defense. They were also aided by the return of senior attack Henry Barton in his first full game back from injury, who “had one of the best games of his career,” tallying a team-high five goals (and an assist), many of which were highlight reel material, including one that Barton scored after laying out for a one-handed catch “Superman-style.” Luchsinger added that Barton’s game was especially impressive due to a “phenomenal” goaltending effort by OES that proved to be the difference-maker.

The Eagles still have a few names on the injury list, but this is the most complete team HRV has had all season, which contributed to the team’s competitiveness against OES.

“In my opinion, that’s the best they’ve played all season, and I would say that is because we had a very good week of practice,” Luchsinger said.

Bruce Ostler and Cody Wheat each had two goals apiece (Ostler a team-high five ground balls), and Jack McCaffrey rounded out the scoring with a goal and two assists. Jackson Lebsack also had an assist. Jhett Chrisman was “on fire” in net, playing the entire game and making 11 saves.

HRV has a busy weekend coming up, playing Summit (9-2) on Friday, Mountain View (5-5) on Saturday, and Bend (6-6) on Sunday.