Coppell Boys Lacrosse opened up the 2019 season this past weekend by participating in what has become a long-running tradition for lacrosse teams across Texas as well as from neighbouring states. Jesuit Dallas Prep once again hosted their Annual Jesuit Lacrosse Invitational, offering teams a chance to see where they are in their preparation for the season and to test themselves against top programs from around the area.
This was Coppell's first opportunity to show what type of team they have, and what a statement the Cowboys made. They posted a 3-1 record for the weekend and got wins over some top-caliber programs, including defeating the host team, the Jesuit Dallas Rangers, who according to sources had never lost a game at this event, dating back to before 2010 . The win also broke a six-game winning streak for the Rangers over the Cowboys.
To win a game over a talented team like Jesuit, Coppell was going to have to be strong at the face-off line and in the goal, and they certainly were. Senior Reece Reynolds took every draw for the Cowboys, winning 10 of 14 possessions in the game, which allowed Coppell to dominate the time of possession, keep their defense fresh, and take Jesuit out of their normal ball-control offense. Junior goalie Hayden MacArthur made nine saves and posted a 71% save percentage, and was supported heavily in the effort by the Sophomore trio on defense of Colton Delk, Canon Peters, and Remi Reynolds, along with Junior Davis Dodd. And this effort came against a Ranger offense which features (4) Division I NCAA commits and (1) Division II NCAA commit.
There was plenty of offense as well for the Cowboys, started off by Senior Ethan Bivens finding Junior Max Lamendola for the opening score. Jesuit answered to tie the game 1-1, but Coppell then dominated possession for the remainder of the half, fueled by unassisted goals from Seniors Brandon Point and Walker Cain, giving Coppell a 3-2 lead at halftime.
Coppell then went on a scoring run that opened up the lead, and the Rangers would never really threaten again. Junior Peyton Barron started the second half scoring with a pretty goal off an assist by Senior Luke Bivens. Bivens then added another assist four minutes later on a goal by Sophomore Gavin Osteen. Sophomore defenseman Canon Peters then led a fast break clear and found Walker Cain for his second tally of the game.
The Rangers tried to mount a run when Senior Peter Buell scored on a fast break opportunity to make it a 3-goal lead, but any momentum for Jesuit was quickly stopped when Peyton Barron weaved through defenders for his second goal of the game, restoring the Coppell 4-goal lead. Senior Ethan Bivens added an unassisted goal for good measure, and the Cowboys walked away with a convincing 8-4 win.
In their other games this weekend, the Coppell Varsity team battled back from a 4-1 halftime deficit to defeat Division II State Runner-up Prosper by a score of 6-4, with the defense posting a double-digit save effort and holding the Eagles scoreless in the second half. Gavin Osteen led the offensive surge, scoring 3 of the 5 2nd half goals.
Coppell was able to go deep into the roster in their 12-3 win over Parrish Episcopal, which featured goals by eight different Cowboys, including Max Lamendola’s 3 goals.
In their lone loss of the event, Coppell jumped out to a 5-3 halftime lead over District 1 opponent Rockwall, but a lack of second half offense from the Cowboys resulted in a 6-5 defeat.
Some of the top individual performances for the event were: Reese Reynolds won 29 of 41 draws for a 71% win rate for the weekend; Walker Cain led the offense with 7 goals and 2 assists, followed closely by Gavin Osteen with 5 goals and 3 assists; Ethan Bivens scored 4 goals and grabbed a team-leading 9 groundballs, and Peyton Barron had 3 goals and 1 assist.
On defense, two of the more impressive statistical lines came from Remi Reynolds (8 GB’s, 5 forced turnovers, 1 goal, and no turnovers) and Canon Peters (7 GB’s, 4 forced turnovers, 1 goal, 1 assist, no turnovers). Colton Delk had 4 GB’s and 3 forced turnovers while shutting down some of the opponent's top offensive players. Goalie Hayden MacArthur had 30 saves and posted a 67% save percentage on the weekend, and midfielder Brandon Point played lockdown short stick defense while also adding 2 goals and 1 assist.
Coppell will now start preparing for their THSLL league-opening game on the road against McKinney on February 13th.