The Cougar boys took a beating from the division’s best Monday afternoon, but even with the blowout loss, ConVal’s lacrosse team is looking strong this spring.
“We knew this one was going to be tough,” ConVal head coach Bob Taylor said after the 14-1 loss. “They’re putting double digits on everybody, all the top teams.”
ConVal took April vacation off to refresh and rest their bodies, but had a tough time reacclimating to game speed on Monday against undefeated Coe-Brown, and the Bears had an 8-0 lead by halftime.
“They scored pretty well,” Taylor said. “They’re so deep across the board. They have fantastic goalies.”
Keeper Jacoby Shaw had a slow start, Taylor said, but heated up as the game went on, and the Cougars did as well.
“I did see improvement throughout the game,” Taylor said, “but [Coe-Brown] is a team that if you mess up your substitutions or whatever, they’re going to make you pay for it. It takes a lot of communication, and they’re just not there yet. We’ve been working on it in practice, but you can get it down with your core group, all your starters, and then somebody gets whacked and has to sit out a shift and somebody new is in there and they’re just not up to speed yet.”
Coe-Brown (7-0) may be the best team in Division III as they look for a second straight undefeated regular season, but the Cougars (3-2) are having a good season of their own. Taylor said he’s changed up the offense this spring, moving away from a star-driven attack and instead spreading the wealth amongst all his attackers. The result has been good, as ConVal’s scoring has been evenly distributed.
“It’s much more of a selfless offense,” Taylor said, “where in the past we were kind of relying on one or two kids to score the goals, and once the team gets your number on that, then they face guard you. So we’re trying to put in something that has a little bit more longevity and can go from year to year.”
That’s meant ample scoring opportunities for attackers Max Sweeney, Oscar Taylor, Henry Taylor, Henry Vivilecchia and even freshman Spencer Bishop, who’s made his way to the starting lineup and scored ConVal’s only goal on Monday.
With that group up front, Max Cail in the midfield and a defense anchored by Liam Kimball, Brayden Boice and Gabe Michaud, the Cougars have been playing well.
“We have a bunch of winnable games coming up, so it’s how fast we can get up to speed and eliminate the mistakes,” Coach Taylor said, adding that a middle school lacrosse program would help his incoming freshman arrive at the high school with significantly more experience.
“There’s no substitute for growing up playing the game,” Taylor said.
ConVal was set to host Campbell (3-3) Wednesday and then Bishop Brady (2-3) on Friday.