The Arizona Laxcats hung on by a thread in their opening game of the season, as they held off the Santa Clara Broncos to win 8-7 in back-and-forth lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at William David Sitton Field.
Senior attack Colton Lloyd scored the first unassisted Laxcat goal. Lloyd is a local product out of Sabino High School.
The Broncos responded with two more goals, and the Laxcats answered back with a goal by freshman attacker Mason DePaola. DePaola was followed by another Laxcat goal by Junior attack Quinn Carrigan, assisted by Freshman left side-mid Hayden Rodenbeck. By halftime, the score was all tied up at 3.
The Laxcats continued to fight both offensively and defensively, as they went up 4-3 prior to a goal by the Broncos to tie the game up for a second time with 12:56 remaining in the third quarter.
The Broncos came back once again as they went up 4-5 towards the end of the third quarter. Then, with 6 minutes remaining on clock, DePaola was able to score his second goal to tie the game for the third time at 5.
The game remained tied heading into the fourth quarter, prior to another goal by Carrigan with 11:17 remaining. Then, with 8:12 remaining, the Broncos answered with a goal of their own, tying the game for now the fourth time at 6-6.
The Laxcats went on to score two more goals, the first by sophomore midfielder Peyton Boyd and the second by Carrigan with just 4:48 remaining on the clock. The crowd was a heaping pile of emotion as the Laxcats’ defense, led by sophomore goaltender Wyatt Hill, continued to bear down with 38 seconds left, holding the Broncos off with a final score of 8-7.
After the game, head coach for the Laxcats Matt Blamey commented on his players’ effort throughout the game. “This was big win for our program,” he said.
“Santa Clara is a talented and well-coached team. We had some guys step up and make plays when they needed to, and our defense made an impressive stand at the end of the game,” coach Blamey said. “It’s a long season but always great to start 1-0.”
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