The Gilmour Academy varsity boys lacrosse team posted a pair of wins in contrasting styles when they played at home for the first time this season last week.
The Lancers began the week with a comfortable 16-5 victory over Padua Franciscan High School in their home opener. Gilmour then finished the week with a thrilling 9-8 win over visiting Westlake High School as the Lancers and Demons were neck-and-neck in an entertaining affair.
In the win over the Bruins, Gilmour ran out to a 5-0 lead after the opening quarter on the strength of a trio of first-quarter goals by Cam Bajzer '22. The Lancers pushed their lead to 9-1 by halftime and were never threatened in the second half as they cruised to their first win of the season.
Bajzer had a monster offensive day, finishing with a game-high nine points on the strength of five goals and four assists.
Luke Radke '23 matched Bajzer's five-goal output and added an assist while Tate Simpson '21 posted a team-best five assists along with a goal. Nate Dowling '22 added two goals while Tanyon Bajzer '21 notched a goal and an assist and won eight faceoffs.
Kessel Richards '21 and Rocco Hice '23 split goaltending duties and finished with eight and five saves, respectively.
A key to the Lancers' win over Padua was their domination in the ground ball department, as Gilmour racked up a total of 39 in the contest. Radke led the way with seven GBs while Simpson tallied six and Dowling finished with five.
In their second game of the week, the Lancers had a much tougher test, but came through down the stretch to claim the win.
Westlake held a slim lead for much of the first three quarters, but Gilmour fought well to remain within striking distance. With the score tied in the fourth quarter, the Lancers reeled off three consecutive goals to take a 9-6 lead, a run started with a strike by Dylan Dekoe '21. The Demons clawed their way back to within a goal, but the Lancers held on to win in a nail-biting finish.
Richards was a key factor in the win with 13 saves, including a couple of key late stops to preserve the lead.
Shea Hofstrom '22 had a team-high four points against Westlake on two goals and two assists. Simpson posted two goals and an assist. Radke and Cam Bajzer both finished with a goal and an assist. Nick Larrabee '21 won seven faceoffs for Gilmour and collected four ground balls.
The Gilmour junior varsity team also prevailed over Westlake. The Lancers won 2-0 in a game that was shortened due to darkness, moving their record to 3-0 on the young season.
Zach Wolfe '22 and Sam Luan '24 had the goals while Brennan Friedman '23 added an assist and four ground balls. Johnny Maruna '24 collected seven ground balls while Hice posted the shutout in the cage.
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