Boys’ JV Lacrosse Remains Undefeated

Boys’ junior varsity lacrosse played New Hampton at home on Saturday, winning 5-4, making it its fifth victory in a consecutive streak. Though the game was its biggest challenge this season, the team rose to the occasion and continued its undefeated record, with lower Troy Marrero scoring the winning shot.

Marrero credits a big part of the team’s success so far to their defense. Only letting up a total of 8 goals in 5 games, the team itself scored 46 goals against other schools. “Our goalie, upper Synclair Goyer, has been fantastic all season and without him and the rest of our defense we would not being doing nearly as well,” he said. 

Upper Michael Bamah added that the excellent team dynamic and motivation in the players contributed to their undefeated record. “We’re undefeated this year because each person on the team comes to practice everyday and grinds. I’ve seen a lot more drive on this team than in previous years,” he said. 

Even for Saturday’s game, players on the team were all in the mindset of not backing down. The team started the game with the first goal, and the score went up to 3-1 by halftime. However, New Hampton managed to tie it up later in the game, as Exeter’s team slipped up a bit in the second half. “We were ahead for the majority of the game, but with about half of the 4th quarter left, they made it 4-4. We did not give up though, we continued to play our hardest and we got the win in the end,” Marrero said.

Bamah noted that there was a lot of moving the ball and off ball movement, skills that the team had worked hard on during the previous couple of days. “New Hampton was a big team and they came to play; biggest competition yet so far,” he said. Bamah added that the team’s support from the bench played a crucial role in their final, hard-earned victory.“What brought us the victory was our bench was fired up in the frigid rain. The guys who weren’t playing were always yelling words of encouragement and support which was helpful,” he said. 

Marrero scored the winning goal, breaking the tie with New Hampton. After one of the team’s middies, lower Aarsh Kak, received a pass from the goalie, Kak started running towards the offensive zone. He continued to run, despite two players from the opposing team coming at him. Marrero, who was standing to the right of the goal, slowly floated up, trying to get open for a pass. As Kak saw Marrero and threw it down, Marrero ducked under and around the player who was covering him in front of the goal, and took a shot. The ball hit the goalie’s foot, but as the ball bounced off his foot and out towards Marrero, he hit the ball with the head of his stick, scoring the winning shot.

With the team’s excellent record and strong players, the boys can’t wait to finish the season strong. “I’m proud to be a part of the team and hopefully we’ll complete the rest of the season undefeated,” Bamah said.