MORGANTOWN — High school lacrosse is always a welcome harbinger of spring, and the weather did its best to cooperate last night as the University boys’ team opened its season at home against Bridgeport.
There was no snow, no sleet, some sun, a little wind, and it wasn’t too terribly cold, although it took true tough guys to be out there on the Mylan Pharmaceutical Stadium — in shorts. And it was the two-time defending champion Hawks that started hot and stayed hot, defeating the inexperienced, senior-less Indians, 17-0.
UHS started with a very patient spread offensive attack, and Antonio Mascara opened the scoring within the first two minutes with a shot from right in front. Once the Hawks realized their speed and skills were superior to the young Bridgeport squad, their offensive aggressiveness and creativeness emerged, and the goals came in bunches. Five in the first quarter, followed by nine in the second, led to a commanding, 14-0 lead at the break.
With a running clock, liberal substitution and a greatly downshifted offense from the Hawks, the second half produced only three more tallies for UHS, but the firepower was clearly on display throughout the game. Seniors Quinn Napolillo and Mascaro and freshman Reis Snider each potted hat tricks, Gavin Yondura scored a pair, and Jacob Stahl, Nick Kirchoff, Mathias Turner, Nate Gibson, Ben McChesney, and Brayden Wilson all found the back of the net once for third-year coach Brian Houk.
“We talked all week about knowing we might be able to get away with some bad habit-forming play against a young team like Bridgeport,” Houk said, “so I challenged them to try to play their best lacrosse. And we did get a little sloppy at times. But we addressed those things at every break, and I certainly was happy with our offensive creativity and our overall effort.”
Napolillo scored two nearly identical first-half goals, both impressive, straight-away laser shots into upper corners from 12 yards out.
“It’s a shot I practice a lot in my front yard,” he smiled. “I try to keep my head up, pick a corner, and let my technique get enough speed on the shot. You can’t just go for pace, because the keepers are too good. So it’s a sweet spot between placement and speed.”
While Mascaro relishes facing tougher competition, he knows there’s plenty of benefit to playing any game, even against an overmatched opponent.
“It’s good to work on the things we learn in practice,” he said, “and it’s always a challenge to play against other teams compared to your own teammates. And I really think that games like this allow younger guys to get varsity experience, and for both teams to watch and learn more about what it takes to raise your game to a higher level.
“Besides,” he continued with a smile, “we know what it’s like to be on the other side in games like this. Every game is an opportunity to learn and improve.”
Any coach would echo that sentiment, and Houk was plenty satisfied as his senior-laden, experienced team began their quest for an impressive state title three-peat.
“We got through relatively healthy (senior Sam Snider tweaked an ankle near the end of the third quarter),” he said, “and we hustled and defended pretty well. We were also able to identify plenty of things that we need to work on, which is maybe the best part. But believe me, I’ll always be happy with a 17-0 win.”
University travels to East-West Stadium for a 7 p.m. March 28 night match-up against traditional rival Fairmont Senior.
