After a 16-10 loss against Gunn High School (4-10 El Camino League, 5-10 overall) on March 19, the boys lacrosse team (9-5 ECL, 9-5 overall) turned the tables on April 29 in their second game against the Titans to secure a 16-9 victory on senior night.
“This game, especially on our senior night, was a great way to to send those guys out,” said head coach Evan King. “We’ve practiced the way we played tonight and executed our [strategies].”
Aragon’s ball control showed when they gained control of the ball in 14 turnovers compared to Gunn’s 12.
“We fought for every ground ball. We’re tenacious on every play. That just comes down to hard work.” King said.
Throughout the game, Aragon utilized their knowledge of their opponents from the previous game to their advantage.
“We know that the defensemen on Gunn are big and aggressive, and they also tend to watch where the ball is,” King said. “So we were able to cut to their back side, open up some good shots, and get them going for our [midfielders] before driving in.”
In the second half, Gunn took more long ranged shots and was able to narrow their point deficit to 10-8 halfway through the third quarter. However, the Dons countered this with another strategy, led by junior attackmen Hunter Daniel and Charlie Austin. Focusing on closer shots, Daniel’s assists allowed Austin to score two goals against the Titans and end the third quarter 13-8.
“We’ve got a couple of really good attackers,” Daniel said. “But the Gunn defense was waiting for me to shoot, which allowed me to distract them while I dish it off to the attack end for a good shot.”
Throughout the game, the Dons were able to deplete Gunn’s focus.
“When we began to lead the game, they started playing chippy and aggressively which gave them more injuries and penalties,” said senior attackman Matt Gee.
Gunn’s aggressive play showed its consequence, with the Titans receiving injuries, forcing three players out of the match by halftime. The Dons quickly capitalized on this advantage.
“We had a lot more numbers on the sideline than Gunn did, and so the ability to keep fresh legs and guys who could run and back up the shots really made the difference” King said.
Aragon’s advantage came to show even more at the beginning of the final quarter, where Gunn’s frustration led to a reaction from the Gunn coach.
“The ref made a call that [Gunn’s] coach was not happy with,” King said. “When their coach tried to address that issue, he did not go about it in a constructive way, and he got a conduct call on him, so [his players] had to serve extra time on the bench.”
The Titans’ attitude culminated in the last minute of the fourth quarter, where the Gunn goalie left the goal in an attempt to score on Aragon, unfortunately breaking his lacrosse stick in the process.
The Dons played their final league game against Pioneer (0-12 ECL, 0-12 overall) on May 2, and defeated them 17-6.
