On Tuesday, Mar. 4, boys’ varsity lacrosse came out victorious over the Justin-Siena Braves. The game started off slow until junior Tommy Vasquez scored with only five minutes left in the first quarter. Senior Jackson Gurvich continued the excitement when he netted a goal only 12 seconds later. Vasquez quickly followed suit, sneaking the ball past the goalie, making the score 3-0 with the first quarter still minutes from ending. When asked to reflect on his first two goals, Vasquez explained that they were a good way to start the game and bring up the team’s hopes.

“It really allowed us to build confidence in our ability to score against this team,” Vasquez said.
The end of the first quarter caught everyone off guard. With 10 seconds left on the clock, a Justin-Siena attacker dashed to midfield before taking a shot. The ball rolled across the field slowly, sneaking past Redwood’s goalie. After a minute of anticipation for the official call, the referee confirmed that the goal did count, leaving the score of the first quarter 3-1.
“I ignored it, it wasn’t worth worrying about. I try not to think about anything other than the game [when playing],” junior Hayden O’Neil said of the goal.

The second quarter started poorly for the Giants when Justin-Siena scored in the first minute, followed by another goal three minutes later. With the game tied, Redwood players were forced to keep pushing. Their hard work paid off when junior Henry Barker scored two essential goals. Both sides called timeouts, just two minutes apart, near the end of the half. The rest and communication from these timeouts helped the Giants finish out the half strong, preventing the Braves from scoring. With a minute left in the half, senior Luke Tempero scored, leaving the score 6-3 at halftime, giving Redwood a comfortable lead. Vasquez believed the team’s energy was down to begin the second half, but one senior in particular helped rally the team

“The energy got a little lower [during the second half], but Jack Anderson was really helpful with getting the bench energy up,” Vasquez said.

The start of the second half was filled with action. The Braves scored their fourth goal of the game, but Redwood quickly followed with goals from both Gurvich and Tempero. Shortly after, junior Rudy Vasquez and Barker continued the third-quarter scoring streak leaving the score 10-4 at the end of the third quarter.

In the final quarter, Justin-Siena scored twice in the first four minutes. But after an assist from Anderson, Gurvich pulled through for the Giants, scoring another goal and encouraging Redwood to keep pushing. The Braves didn’t give up, and they scored once again, but Barker followed it up with two more goals. With both teams scoring once more, the game ended in a 14-8 victory for Redwood. To watch another exhilarating game like this, don’t miss the next boys’ next match on Friday, March 7 at home against Sacred Heart Prep.