MORGANTOWN — The Morgantown boys’ lacrosse team improved its record to 9-0 after defeating visiting Fairmont Senior on Thursday night at Pony Lewis Field.
After three ties and three lead changes, the Mohigans scored 11 unanswered goals from the 4:30 mark in the second quarter and didn’t allow their opponents to score a single goal for the entire second half en route to a 14-3 victory.
MHS attackers senior Ty Edgerton (three goals) and junior Wyatt Kozel (four) each scored a hat trick on the night and tallied multiple assists. Seven different players scored for MHS on the night as well.
“I think we were a little sluggish to start, weren’t tight or getting to loose balls,” MHS head coach Jeremy Bennett said after the game. “We were hesitant so I told them to just start getting after the ball and making the play happen.”
MHS scored the opening goal midway through the first quarter and held possession on offense for nearly the entire time. FS responded well though, scoring two goals in the final three minutes of the quarter to snatch a 2-1 lead.
Kozel scored his second goal of the game just 90 seconds into the second frame, knotting the game at two and swinging momentum back in favor of the hosts. His teammate, Ayden Shepard, followed three minutes later with a long-range snipe of the top left corner to give MHS a 3-2 lead.
The Polar Bears tied the game once more with a long-range effort of their own from 20 yards from the left wing with 4:30 left until the half. Unfortunately for them, it would be their last.
Edgarton must have heard his coach about needing to get after the ball, closing the half out with a 23-second hat-trick from the 1:48-1:25 timeframe of the second quarter.
After scoring to give his team a 4-3 lead (one they kept the rest of the game) Edgarton found space immediately after MHS won a faceoff. Kozel made a nice pass that was buried by Edgarton for his second goal in eight seconds.
Another win on the ensuing faceoff set up what seemed to be the exact same play as before, freeing Edgarton on the right side for Kozel to find for an open shot, and creating the exact same result. After battling back and forth throughout the first half, the Mohigans had captured all the momentum heading into the break.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a theme or anything,” Bennett said about his team falling behind early in games. “The message is always to just keep going, keep pounding. I was just talking to our announcer we may not be doing everything perfect but we have to keep going.”
That’s just what Bennett’s players did, scoring five goals in the third quarter to open a 11-3 lead with one quarter left.
Three more goals in the final 12 minutes secured a 14-3 win for MHS, keeping its record unscathed at 9-0. Bennett says the leadership of not only Kozel and Edgarton but all his players.
“It’s important to have those kinds of guys on your team,” Bennett said. “They’re doing a lot of the teaching for us on the field. Those guys like Wyatt and Ty and even Weston (White) and Carter (Wilson) they just lead well by example.”
MHS will have over a week off before traveling to face Martinsburg in Preston County next Friday.
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