As the lights flickered on at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night, the game started off with a bang, as Burlingame senior attacker Matthew Janc scored the first goal just two minutes and four seconds after the starting whistle. Aragon answered quickly, however, just fifteen seconds later and then another goal a couple minutes after the first, both scored by Lee.
Lee performed strongly against Burlingame, as did the rest of the attacking line. Having a total of nine shots on goal throughout the action-packed competition, Lee combined with Herminghaus’s five shots throughout and Gee’s four for a total of eighteen shots on goal from the attacking line, with seven goals being results from them.
“I was really impressed in particular with our attack line the way that they were able to ride and create turnovers,” says varsity coach Sean Robinson when asked about the attacking line, “Zack [Gee], Connor [Herminghaus], and Eric [Lee] all stepped up, and I would say those three did a great job tonight.”
Although the Dons dominated possession throughout the game, Robinson focused on his team’s defense, stating the importance of the creation of turnovers that lead to success: “We haven’t been able to create turnovers like that in the past, so to see that, that was really impressive and that’s how a lot of our offense actually came about.”
Although senior captain, and goalie Trevor Graf made nineteen saves throughout the game, Burlingame’s attack was strong and fast especially in the last two quarters. Scoring two goals in the third quarter and one in the fourth, the Panthers’ offense made the score 5-8 in under fifteen minutes.
Although goals were conceded, Robinson had nothing negative to say about Graf or his performance: “Trevor [Graf] is one of the best goalies in the Bay Area, hands down the best in our conference, and he’s been a four year starter, captain, and I couldn’t ask more from him. I was really impressed with how he played tonight, of course we want a win, but Trevor [has] just been rock solid all season.”
With Burlingame being the Dons’ biggest rival in boys lacrosse, tensions were high at the start of the game but rose especially at the start of the fourth quarter. “In the beginning and the first half we were really pumped up and at half time it was 5-5 and we really had that fire going,” explains Gee. “But I think, towards the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth, they started getting ahead of us and we lost our momentum a little bit.”
However, that lost momentum was gained back little by little, especially after the Dons netted two goals following Burlingame’s three. Herminghaus scored the seventh and final goal for the Dons in the last minute of the game, but it was too little too late.
Although the boys were not happy with the final score, they have a rematch scheduled against Burlingame on May 9, where they will seek redemption after the airtight loss. Gee along with the rest of his teammates is thankful for the seniors and all the effort they gave and continue to give even through tough losses.
But before that, they will take on Carlmont on May 4 (6-5 overall, 2-1 PAL).
Featured image by Eric Shen
