The Boys Lacrosse team competed in their second game of the season last Thursday, losing 7-5 in a very exciting and well-balanced game. The result was “disappointing”, however the team played with a lot of “determination” and “resilience”, as described by Coach Jonathan Copithorne.
In preparation for the game, Coach Jeremiah Smith said that “It was difficult to prepare for the game because of weather conditions, (they) spent a lot of time in the gym focusing on stick skills.” The very few times they were outside, Smith described that they “focused on defense, attacking positioning and technique.” While the snow and rain kept the team from practicing a lot outdoors at the beginning of the season, they have improved as a team.
Coach Smith said that “If the game lasted a few more minutes then Malden could of had a different result.” Senior Captain Joey Costa “[thought they] played down to the standards of Saugus and didn’t play our game like [he knows they] can. [He] was disappointed in the result but that game doesn’t define the kind of team that [they] are and the team we will be.”
The result is not what the team expected, however Malden had standout players that if given a little more time, could have turned the game in Malden’s favor. According to Coaches Smith and Copithorne, the players that impressed were Andrew Hallahan, Cristobal Seguel, Corey and Zach Rufo, Joey Costa, and Hasnat Moughal. Costa himself said that “Cristobal and Andrew stepped up with two goals a piece.”
“Corey Rufo had a great game on face offs, which allowed us to make a run at the end of the game, and opened up some great scoring opportunities for his brother, Zach.” Coach Copithorne explained. Along with the goal scorers, there is also praise for players such as Costa and Moughal. Both Coach Copithorne and Smith were impressed with how Costa performed saying “[Costa] continues to lead the team in ground balls, which has allowed [them] to steal a lot of possessions.” Moughal is also very important to keeping the team in the game. Since Moughal is the goalie, he is responsible for keeping the ball out of his team’s net. As described by fellow teammate Costa “[Moughal] tallied double digit saves so they had themselves a game.”
Even though these specific players had a good game, the Coaches also urge that the whole team as a unit can improve, even though they played well in the later half of the game. Coach Copithorne believes that the team needs to keep the momentum they had at the end of the game and Coach Smith believes that the team can improve in every aspect of the game. Smith said that “[they] can improve in every area of [their] game. From [their] coaching to [their] defending and attacking and to [their] teamwork.”
This game against Saugus has paved the way for the Lacrosse team to improve and to play to the best of their ability for the remainder of the season.
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