Xavier Prep began the 2022 club lacrosse season with a pair of road losses, so Monday night’s (March 14) home opener at Petznick Field offered the Gators a big chance to put a victory on the board against Cave Creek Cactus Shadows.
While the
result was the same as the first two, this 15-13 loss featured some encouraging
moments for the Gators.
The most
noteworthy was a rally late in the second half when the XCP scored three
straight goals to move within what would be the final differential. The clock,
however, was not an ally and time just ran out.
As a whole,
the Gators played better in the first half, trading leads with the Falcons. The
Gators scored twice in the final 1:03 for a 9-8 lead at halftime.
The early
part of the second half was a different story. Cactus Shadows took advantage of
five yellow cards (primarily for high sticks), going on a 5-0 run to take
control of the match. By rule, Xavier had to sit two players for the
infractions, one player at the fourth card with 6 minutes left and the second
at the fifth card with about 3 ½ minutes to go.
Xavier made
its late charge with Joan Walton’s fourth goal of the match, followed by
Keilani Hong’s third goal and one by McKenna Boyer.
The last
goal came at the 8:10 mark, but Cactus Shadows was able to run the clock down
with its ball control and deft passing to secure the win.
The Falcons
had begun the season at 3-0 before a pair of losses entering the Xavier match.
For Xavier,
Marlee McCloskey had three goals and Gigi Riviere had two. Hong had three
assists to go along with her three goals.
Xavier will
make another attempt at earning its first win on Wednesday (March 16) at
Petznick Field against Phoenix Desert Vista. Start time is 7 p.m.
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