Coming off of a hot streak beating Herndon and Langley in the last 10 days, the Highlander boys lacrosse team was slated to matchup against Trinity Christian School in an out-of-district game. The boys were confident in their ability to win, but they had to come out hot.
“We’ve been watching film and practicing to know what we have to do in this game,” senior attackman Galder Maull said. “We have to come out swinging and take control of the game early.”
Unfortunately for McLean, they did not come out hot, only scoring one goal in the first with a late net by senior defenseman Jake Bell. Trinity also scored shortly after to tie the game, ending the first quarter at 1-1.
The second quarter followed the theme of the first. Sloppy offensive play allowed for only one goal by each of the teams. This time for McLean Maull scored 3 minutes into the half, but Trinity was able to once again tie the game going into halftime.
“We felt we had some chances that we weren’t able to convert in the first half,” senior attackman Christian McNeil said. “But we liked the chances we were creating and knew we would score eventually.”
Trinity had McLean on the ropes to start the second half with a goal just two minutes in to put the Highlanders in a 4-3 deficit. McLean was able to respond though, as McNeil tacked on three goals of his own. Two more goals from the Gryphons put the Highlanders up 6-5 entering the fourth.
The fourth quarter was all McLean. After an early Trinity goal tied the game, sophomore attackman Caleb Green scored two goals in a row to put McLean up 8-6 with 8 minutes left. After a 6 minute stalemate, McNeil scored his fourth goal of the game, icing the game for the Highlanders with under three minutes left. And after one final garbage time goal from Trinity, the game ended 9-7.
“Although we missed some big chances, we were happy to come out with the win,” McNeil said.
With the win, McLean moved to 6-4 on the season. They now look ahead to their next game versus Marshall on April 28, hoping to continue their dominance in district play.
“It’s a long and tough road ahead,” Maull said, “but we have a strong group of players and we know we can do great things. We’re excited to push in the postseason.”
