Published: May 10, 2008 11:14 pm            

BOYS LACROSSE: Lions show their might

Mike Evans knows exactly what coach Kris Brayley and the Wilson Lakemen are going through. That’s because the Lockport boys lacrosse coach has endured it himself the past three seasons.

After suffering through a number of lopsided defeats themselves the last couple years, Evan’s Lions showcased their improvement Saturday to the Lakemen, a first-year Section VI program, in the form of a 16-0 non-league shutout.

“That was us just a few years ago,” Evans said while watching Wilson depart LHS. “It’s really tough to come into Section VI from club.”

Senior Nick Ciemny, who had five goals and four assists in the win, agreed.

“It’s taken a lot of hard work to get here,” he said of the Lions’ improvement. “Coach always stresses work ethic to get better.”

You also need to be able to put the ball into the back of the net to win at a consistent rate and the Lions (5-7 overall) did so early and often against the Lakemen. Dan Stephan had a hat trick and Ciemny added a pair of tallies in the opening quarter as Lockport jumped out to a commanding 6-0 lead. The deficit could have been much worse for the Lakemen if it were not for the play of goalkeeper Brandon Beggs, who made seven of his 12 saves in the opening stanza.

Lockport would continue to keep the pressure on the visitors in the second, though, as it added three more goals to take a 9-0 lead into halftime. The Lions controlled possession for most of the first half, holding a huge advantage in ground balls.

“They weren’t the best sliders on defense, so we were just trying to move the ball as fast we could to find the open man,” Ciemny said. “We started to get all riled up knowing that we could put the ball in the net. It’s all about confidence.”

The Lions would put the game away in the third frame when they scored five goals in the first five minutes. On the day, Stephan had five goals and three assists, Glenn McKeever had two goals and Joe Rinaldo, Luke Rankie, Jeff Schlitzer and Cody Heatherly all added one goal apiece. For Schlitzer and Heatherly, it was their first career varsity tally.

LHS goalie Chris Eglin, who teamed up with D.J. Haseley to get the win in net, made a couple nice saves in the second half to preserve the shutout and hopefully give the Lions a boost for Monday’s pivotal matchup with Class A foe Williamsville North.

“I think (Saturday’s) game is something we’re hoping to build on Monday,” Evans said. “The winner of that game will probably get the sixth seed in Class A, which is huge because that means you don’t have to play an extra game.”

For the Lakemen, who fall to 2-12 on the season, it’s still a learning process that Brayley knows will take some time.

“We’ve got a lot of young kids that continue to work hard at practice, so now we just have to start executing and applying what we learn in practice to the game,” he said. “We still need more exposure to the game, but we enjoy the challenge and so do the kids.”

Contact reporter Nate Beutel at 282-2311, ext. 2262.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.