KINGWOOD — The young University High boys’ lacrosse team has big shoes to fill. The two-time defending state champions graduated 18 seniors from last year’s winners.
But for coach Brian Houk and the Hawks, this season has brought new players, new challenges, new leaders — and so far, similar results. After a come-from-behind season-opening win against Wheeling Central last week, UHS took on a similarly young, but severely shorthanded Preston team Tuesday night, and handled the Knights 25-2.
Experience, speed and depth are formidable weapons against an inexperienced foe, and University (2-0) took advantage early. Junior attack Brayden Wilson scored from close range just 12 seconds into the match, then potted another half a minute later, and when senior Nick Kirchoff scored from in front 50 seconds later, the lead was 3-0 before two minutes had wound off the clock.
By the time Wilson netted his 5th goal with 48 seconds left in the quarter, the UHS lead was 9-0, and would’ve been more but for the spectacular play of Preston keeper junior Jacob Gregg, who turned away seven shots in the quarter and 13 in all.
Preston (0-2) got on the board twice in the second quarter on a nice transition breakaway goal from Austin Casteel and a long range, long stick screen shot from Ryan Wilson, but UHS put up another nine spot in the second quarter to take a commanding 18-2 lead at the half, then cruised in, adding seven second-half goals.“It’s been an odd beginning to the year, starting with having to practice at Mylan Park (while the surface at UHS’s Mylan Pharmaceuticals Stadium is being refurbished),” he explained. “Plus, we had such a huge turnover in our roster that we’re still finding out who we are and who we can become. We’ll still try to play fast, emphasize our transition game, and we’re excited about spreading the offense out among six or seven guys, sharing the ball and keeping everyone involved and hungry.
“At 2-0, we’re where we want to be, but we know we can’t get complacent. We want to peak in May, not March, so we have to continue to get better.”
PHS coach Jeff Dreisbach and Houk share a love for lacrosse and are also the only two men to have coached both the UHS boys and the WVU club lacrosse teams during the same year, and the dean of the sport in the state is also looking for steady improvement from his neophyte Knights.
“We lost a bunch of seniors last year, and we’ve got just 14 players right now, so we’re gonna have a few games like this this year,” he said. “We have to think quicker out there, but that comes with game experience, and we got better as the game progressed. Junior Nate Pompilli was outstanding on face-offs all night, so we are seeing things we like. And we have a good group in our middle school program, so things are looking up for the future for us.”
University plays its next four games on the road, starting with Kiski (Pa.) Prep on Saturday before facing Linsly at home April 15. The Knights play a doubleheader at Wheeling Central and John Marshall on Saturday, then return home to host Berkeley County on April 6.
