On April 16, the boys’ varsity lacrosse team played the Marin Catholic (MC) Wildcats in a Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) matchup. The Wildcats won the opening face-off and took the ball to the goal in the first few seconds of the game, showing a quick-hit offense that would give the Redwood defense fits for the rest of the game. However, senior Jackson Gurvich responded for the Giants, scoring in under a minute after the Wildcats’ goal. After a string of quick goals by the Wildcats, the Giants bounced back with goals by sSenior Luke Tempero and sSenior John Anderluh in the second quarter, making the score 6-3. Anderluh was instrumental as the face-off man for the Giants, winning around half of the face-offs in a very even matchup against the Wildcat face-off man. But the Wildcat’s offense proved too powerful, as sophomore Chase Ruegg scored a couple crafty goals, and Marin Catholic went on a 5-1 scoring run before halftime.
In the second half, the Giants began to fall away, with the Wildcats dominating the time of possession and scoring six more points.
“We had a lot of mental errors, especially on defense, which could have been the difference between them scoring or not scoring a lot of their goals,” Gurvich said.
Despite the lack of strength on defense, the Giants were still able to sneak two more goals past a strong Marin Catholic defense with one by sophomore Emmet O’Neil and another by Gurvich.
“We missed a few chances that really should have been goals, and those are the opportunities that really could have put momentum on our side,” Gurvich said.
Gurvich also believed that ground balls could have made a significant difference in the matchup.
“Ground ball definitely could’ve changed the game a lot; there were a lot of 50-50 [chances] that we just weren’t winning, and those really could have shifted the game’s direction.”
The game ended with a tough Redwood loss and a final score of 17-5. Redwood faces an expected easier opponent against San Rafael on Thursday, April 17, where they hope to secure another win on their record.
