Coppell Boys Varsity Lacrosse travelled to Austin over the last weekend to play a pair of teams from the Division 1 Central Region. This trip would also see the Cowboys pitted against the top-ranked team in Texas for the second straight week, as they lost a close 1-goal battle last week to Jesuit Dallas and would take on the new #1 ranked team in the state, Westlake, on this trip.
First up for the Cowboys was their match with Westlake, who entered this game with a 10-1 overall record on the season and wins over top-10 ranked programs in Rockwall, St. Marks, The Woodlands, and Highland Park, with their only loss coming against #2 ranked ESD.
Coppell started out slowly on offense as they worked to solve the Westlake zone defense. Westlake struck first on the scoreboard when they scored on a fast break and finish by Junior Duncan Brayden, who would score 3 goals on the day. After Westlake added a second goal, Coppell scored on a steal and unassisted goal by Sophomore Tyler Wendel, which finished the 1st quarter scoring with Westlake leading 2-1. Westlake would continue to possess the ball throughout the 2nd quarter, adding 2 more unassisted goals and finishing the first half with a 4-1 lead.
Coppell was able to win the time of possession in the 3rd quarter, as they held the ball longer and were able to increase their shots on goal, but could not break through with any goals. The only goal of the 3rd quarter was scored by Westlake at about the 10-minute mark, making the score 5-1 entering the final quarter.
The Coppell offense was never able to get going in the game, and the 29-20 advantage for Westlake in shots attempted was too much for the Cowboys to overcome. Westlake added a couple of late goals as Coppell was forced to chase and double team the ball as Westlake stalled out the final minutes of the game, resulting in a 7-1 final score.
The Coppell defense was successful in slowing down the high-powered Westlake offense, keeping their scoring down to just 7 goals, well below Westlake’s season average of almost 13 goals per game, and only the third time all year the Chaparrals failed to score at least 10 goals. Junior goalie Hayden MacArthur posted one of his two 10-save games for the weekend,and added 6 groundballs and 3 forced turnovers. Sophomore Remi Reynolds had 4 groundballs and 2 forced turnovers, while Senior Ethan Bivens and Junior Reid Robbins added 3 ground balls each.
The Cowboys would have to quickly recover and regroup, as they were set to take on Vandergrift High School the following day. The offense would again be facing another zone defense right out of the gate, but this time they would find much more success, and would find it early. Junior Leo Swaldi opened the scoring for the Cowboys just 86 seconds into the game on an unassisted goal and would go on to have his biggest offensive output of the season, scoring a total of 5 goals and 1 assist on the day. Coppell was able to limit the length and effectiveness of Vandergrift’s possessions throughout the first half and would go on to score 4 goals in the first frame and 3 more in the second frame, to take a 7-2 lead into halftime. Junior Max Lamendola would score 2 goals and add an assist in the half.
The scoring and tight defense would continue through the 3rd quarter, as Coppell added 4 more goals and shut out the Vandergrift offense, taking a commanding 11-2 lead into the final quarter. Senior Walker Cain would have 1 goal and 2 assists in the game, Junior Gavin Osteen would score a goal and an assist, and Senior Brandon Point would add 2 assists on the day.
Coppell was able to work deep into their roster in the fourth quarter, and came away with the win and a final score of 11-4. The results of the trip would move Coppell’s record for the season to 6-3, with all three of those losses coming to top-10 ranked teams in the state. Things do not get any easier for the Cowboys this week as they return to the Dallas area for another road game, this time against 2nd ranked ESD. Please travel across town to ESD support the Cowboys this Friday at 7:30 PM, for another battle of Top-10 ranked Texas teams.