The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The boys lacrosse squad finished their season with a game against Ida B. Wells at the Cascade Cup held in Portland on Thursday, May 19. The Cascade Cup is a second-tier playoff series for the 16 highest ranking teams that don’t make the championship playoffs.

Sisters entered the Cascade Cup as the 11th seed and a 4-7 record, while Ida B. Wells was the sixth seed with a 4-11 record, which was based on a higher strength of schedule. The Outlaws were only able to bring 18 players from their roster of 26.

The Outlaws got off to a good start and scored the first three goals of the game in quick succession, thanks to a goal each from Gus Patton, Cooper Merrill, and Adam Maddox-Castle. Wells took more shots at the goal, but their attempts were off target, which was a big benefit to the Outlaws. The Guardians scored once and at the end of the first quarter the Outlaws held a 3-1 advantage. Ida B. Wells found their range in the second quarter, went on a 4-0 run, and took a 5-3 lead. Three minutes before the whistle sounded to end the half, Eli Johnson scored for the Outlaws, and then with a minute left Patton knocked one in to tie it up 5-5 at the half.

Teams played even in the third quarter, with three goals each, and a score of 8-8. Sisters got goals from Merrill, Wyatt Maffey, and Ricky Huffman.

In the final quarter the Guardians were able to outscore the Outlaws, in part because the Outlaws had too many penalties.

Coach Paul Patton said, “Slashing and cross-checking fouls put our boys in the penalty box and gave them a man-up advantage, making it easier for them to score. In the end and throughout the game we had trouble keeping possession of the ball. We struggled to clear the ball to the other end of the field after defensive stops and then had some errant passes on the offensive end too.”

The Outlaws had 36 turnovers in the contest, which limited their scoring opportunities and was a big reason the Guardians were able to get 55 shots on goal compared to the Outlaws’ 23. Patton noted that it was pretty amazing that the Outlaws were able to keep the score so close considering that discrepancy. Outstanding play from Lex Jeffries was one of the reasons the game was so close. Lex is just a freshman and usually plays as the Outlaws’ JV goalie, but he stepped up and filled in when starting goalie Justin Blake got sick the day prior to the contest. Jeffries recorded 12 saves and only allowed 11 goals on 55 shots.

Maffey also had a stellar game, and had to step into position as the Outlaws’ face-off guy. Patton told The Nugget he had a 50/50 success rate, which was great since he hadn’t played that spot all year. Maffey also led the team with 10 ground balls. Kyle Pilarski, the long stick middie, finished the game with six ground

balls. Merrill got to start at attack as a freshman and put two in the net on just four attempts. Patton, a middie, was efficient on the offensive end as well and put in two goals on three shots.

Patton said, “Despite the loss, it was quite an accomplishment for our team, especially our seniors, to get a postseason game and to play the game close.”