MORGANTOWN — If the Depression-era Louisiana politician Huey Long met the members of the University High girls’ lacrosse squad, he’d likely tell the players he likes their style.
Long was well-known for his push to “Share Our Wealth” as a senator, a plan meant to redistribute excess income to curb poverty and homelessness. And while stimulating offense by sharing passes during a lacrosse game is much different than taxing the wealthy to establish financial equity, UHS grasps the concept of sharing well.
The Hawks saw eight scorers April 10 as they hosted Preston, with Sophie Armstrong, Morgan Crocco and Jordyn Snider turning hat tricks en route to a 15-8 UHS victory.
PHS was led by Carlee Casteel, who tallied four goals on the night.
“Teamwork has been a theme of ours since the very beginning. We’ve got some really talented girls on this team, but you can’t win a game by yourself,” UHS coach Kevin Armstrong said. “You have to have your teammates out there. We have been stressing to find the open girl, make that extra pass, and in doing so you may not score, but you created that goal.”
Armstrong credits the UHS offensive rhythm on the evening to his squad finally making headway with smoother passes and catches, which helped open up the Hawks’ attack in transition and allows for more scoring potential.
“Our offense comes down to catching and passing. We’re doing that better, which allows our girls to cut and get open and we score more,” Armstrong said. “We’re doing well in transition and getting the ball down the field, which gives us the numbers advantage, and we’re getting open and getting good shots.”
PHS coach Cris Gank attributes his squad’s defensive struggles to breakdowns in assignments, which consistently opened lanes and shot opportunities for the host.
“We have to work on the defense a little bit. We need to get the girls to stick their coverage a little bit better, and work on our defense and we’ll be good to go,” he said.
As a coach who stresses fundamentals to his athletes, Armstrong said he is happy to see his focus on the basics of the game begin to pay dividends.
“I was really impressed. I was really excited the way we came out. We had a focus today on trying to do the little things — win the draws, controlling ground balls, and crisper passing, which I saw,” he said. “We finally did the little things, which I’ve been talking about all season.”
Despite the loss, Gank was excited with the offensive momentum generated by his squad, particularly in the second half. The Knights turned around from a 6-1 blowout in the first segment of play to a competitive 9-7 battle for offensive supremacy in the final 25 minutes.
“Our offense stepped up in the second half and had a little bit more control of the ball,” Gank said. “It seems like when we get the ball off of the draw we have a pretty good chance of going and scoring, but our defense wasn’t ready for the UHS offense today.
“It was a tough game, but we scored more on UHS today than we have in the past, so I consider it a win. The progress has been great this year.”
UHS goalie Riley Phares made 13 saves, while Preston’s Emilie Roth stopped five shots.
For Armstrong, the game was most valuable as a teaching tool, as it allowed an opportunity for varsity role players and JV athletes to get a more intricate taste of varsity action, helping build a foundation for the future of Hawks’ lacrosse.
“We played a lot of girls today. We had our JV and varsity here, and we were able to get all the girls into the game,” he said. “It’s a chance for them to get in and see the speed of a varsity game. A lot of the girls grew today, and we can build off that.”
The Hawks will return to action tonight, as they host Buckhannon-Upshur at 6 p.m., at Mylan Pharmaceuticals Stadium. Preston will next take the field Saturday, traveling to John Marshall for a 4 p.m. start.
