Menlo Atherton lacrosse records big win over Sacred Heart Prep

M-A scored four goals in the third period, however, to take a 10-8 lead on its way to a 12-10 decision.

“Playing Prep first game back (to start the second half) is the best thing that could have happened to us,” said M-A coach Steven Kryger. “This was exactly what we needed. If you can’t get up for this game, you can’t get up for any game.”

There are always bragging rights going on in Atherton what with Sacred Heart Prep, Menlo School and M-A all sharing the town. So it was not lost on the Bears that they are now 3-0 against SHP and Menlo in lacrosse.

“I think beating Prep (is better than being undefeated in league),” said M-A’s Nick Schlein, who scored four goals in the victory and whose brother goes to SHP.

“It’s always fun.”

Kryger was having a much better time as he saw his offense finally get on track. Despite getting four goals from Schlein as well as a goal and three assists from Duncan McGinnis, Kryger was pleased to see the offensive output come from several different sources.

“We don’t really dictate who goes where (in the offense). We feel confident in all our guys,” said Kryger, whose team had eight different scorers. “Because our offense is scripted so it doesn’t focus on one player, it makes it a lot harder for defenses.

“To have eight guys score on 12 goals? That’s unheard of.”

While M-A seems to have shaken its doldrums, SHP coach Joe Thompson is wondering when his players will kick theirs.

“What we’re struggling with is the execution. In the first half, they [M-A] didn’t execute much better. But in the second half, they executed much better and we still weren’t executing. We’re not going to win this thing without execution,” Thompson said. “My biggest task right now, we need to keep getting better. We have to start turning the corner.”

It appeared the Gators were poised to do just that in the first half. SHP scored on its first two shots of the game — the second being a Sean Mayle 60-yard dash from his own defensive end before burying his shot at the opposite end.

M-A, however, responded both times. Trent Benedick was filling the lane and took a feed from Drew Uphoff before finding the back of the net and Duncan McGinnis tied the game off an assist from Kihira Kotaro.

But back-to-back goals from Noah Kawasaki and Andrew Daschbach gave SHP a 4-2 lead after the first quarter.

The two teams traded goals for much of the second period, with the Gators maintaining their two-goal lead much of the time.

But two M-A goals less than a minute apart pulled the Bears even. The most impressive was M-A defenseman Nicholas Mullen’s, who scooped up a loose ball deep in the Bears’ defensive end and then lumbered into the attack. He was met by a SHP defender about 25 yards from goal, but Mullen simply bounced off him. He spun past the dazed defender, stumbled as he entered the crease, but held it together long enough to fire a shot past the Gators’ goaltender.

SHP appeared to take some of the momentum back when Mayle scored his third goal of the half with 22 seconds remaining until halftime.

In the third quarter, M-A outscored the Gators 4-1 to take control of the match. Uphoff tied the match at 7 moments after the second-half faceoff. Uphoff controlled the faceoff and ran right at the SHP defense. His initial shot was blocked, but he stuck with the play, forced a turnover and then deposited the ball in the back of the net. Schlein’s goal at 8:18 gave the Bears an 8-7 lead, but SHP came back to tie it on a Kawasaki strike.

M-A, however, took the lead for good and then extended it going into final 12 minutes with a pair of goals from Jordan Zuk.

The Bears extended their lead to three, 11-8, scoring the first goal of the final period. SHP got a goal back, but Schlein’s fourth strike of the match with 5:41 left gave the Bears some breathing room, 12-9. The Gators scored in the final minute, but the Bears then ran out the clock.

“The big difference was, we fought harder than we have in the last three weeks,” Kryger said.