Four 4th quarter goals within 33 seconds, off four quick faceoff wins, spark the Eagle's offense to an 8-0 run, not enough to take down the Cherokee Trail Cougars
The SFC dads in the announcer's booth may have been the highlight of the first three quarters in the Men’s LAX team’s most recent game against the visiting Cherokee Trail Cougars (CO). Not much seemed to go the Eagle's way and costly penalties - resulting in 5 man-down goals against the home team - impacted the outcome of the game. Our boys struggled to find their rhythm early and seemed to be functioning half a step behind during the first half of the game.
Despite the disappointing outcome of the game, there are always silver linings and rainbows that emerge from behind the clouds (both literally and figuratively during this game!). Brett Koopman (Sr) was a force on both sides of the field, demonstrating why he’s one of the top national players in the ‘23 class and “one to watch” in the west. Not only did he lead the 4th quarter charge back into the game, but he also put the team on his back with 4 straight face-off wins en route to 4 team goals to spark an 8-0 scoring run at the end of the game. The Cougar’s defense focused quickly on Freshman attack, Colby Rossettie, locking him up, forcing some bad shots, and throwaway passes. But great players rise to the occasion, even in challenging circumstances, and CoCo did just that - netting 4 goals and dishing 2 assists by the final whistle.
Our goalies also did a phenomenal job between the posts facing a seemingly nonstop barrage of shots through three quarters. It’s a tough role to have when the rest of the team is struggling, however, both Finlay Lenihan (So) and George Adams (So) stood strong, never got self-defeated, and had some amazing saves that helped to slow several scoring runs that could have put the game that much further out of reach.
It took the Eagle’s defense a bit to warm up during the game, they’d probably like to send the first quarter back into the vault and pretend it didn’t happen. After letting 7 goals slip by in the first quarter, the defense got things more locked down for the rest of the game. They were all over the Cougar’s offense, limiting them to 3, 4, and 2 goals over the remaining three quarters. Led by Ben Wakeham’s (So) 5 GB’s and 5 CTOs, our boys were scrappy, diving for balls, knocking them down, stripping players, taking it away, and keeping things close enough so a comeback never felt impossible.
Despite the outcome, we’re proud of the entire team for staying strong and motivated throughout the game. The grit and mental toughness they demonstrated was impressive and should be a positive takeaway for the team. Whether it was the boys on the field giving their all, or the ones on the sidelines cheering their hearts out to keep the spark alive, this team is special and they showed us why today.
The team has a week-long break to regroup, learn, and improve for the next game at home on Wednesday, Mar. 29 @ 5 pm vs. Denver East. Get your cheer gear on and come on out to support our boys!
Go Eagles!