The Cowboy Varsity Lacrosse team will gladly take their 8-7 win over Plano East HS from Friday night, but it was not as comfortable as it appeared it would be in the early going. Coppell moved out to an early lead, starting with four unassisted goals by Seniors Ryan Finglass, Spencer Haddock, Ripken Reynolds, and another by Haddock, who finished with 2 goals and 1 assist on the game. Coppell again looked to be separating themselves after three goals from Junior Reese Walker (2 of which were assisted by Junior Zach Bartolacci) moved Coppell into a 7-3 lead mid-way through the 2nd quarter.
But that is when the tide turned a bit in Plano East’s favor. After some errant passes and some missed possessions between the restraining lines by Coppell, and some efficient offensive possessions by Plano East, the Cowboy’s lead was cut to 7-5 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
With the slowed offensive production, the Coppell defense was required to step up in the second half, and they did. Senior Dylan Thompson and Junior Harper DeLoach disrupted the Plano East attack, with each player forcing 3 turnovers and scooping up 2 ground balls in the game. The goalies combined for a team save percentage of 59%, with Freshman Hayden MacArthur stopping 6 shots during the first 3 quarters, and Senior Cooper McAden stopping 4 more shots in the final quarter, including two big saves during a wild offensive flurry in the final 2 minutes of the game.
Penalties ended up playing a significant role in the game with Coppell drawing eight flags, compared to four on Plano East. The Coppell Man Down units battled through multiple shifts, but did surrender two man-down goals on the night.
Coppell finally broke the 2nd half scoring drought when Senior Ben Goyne (who also had 5 ground balls won in the game) scored an unassisted goal on a change-of-pace bounce shot that found the corner of the net, giving Coppell a two-goal lead. Plano East scored again, making it a one-goal game, and the Panthers had possession of the ball with under one minute left, but a deflected Plano East shot resulted in a ground ball win by Dylan Thompson, a full-field heave of the ball to the Coppell offensive zone, and a great catch by Zach Bartolacci, allowing Coppell to run out the remaining 30 seconds and preserve the win.
The Cowboys will travel to Houston this coming weekend to take on two strong Division 1 South teams, playing against The Woodlands HS on Saturday at 2 PM, and Kingwood HS on Sunday at 12 PM.