Late surge leads Huskies in lacrosse
After a 10-9 win over Northfield earlier in the season, Owatonna boys lacrosse Head Coach Scott Seykora figured it would be another close game. It was another close game and another win for the Huskies as they come away with a 7-4 win over the Raiders on Thursday, May 6.
The Huskies took an early lead when Caleb Belting scored just three minutes into the game.
However, about four minutes later, the Raiders tied the game up.
Owatonna responded with a goal of its own when Lucas Jensen scored just two and a half minutes.
The Huskies held onto that 2-1 lead until the end of the first quarter.
About four minutes into the second quarter, Belting scored his second goal of the game and extended Owatonna’s lead to 3-1.
Through the first quarter and half the Huskies held the Raiders to just one goal, which was impressive considering Northfield scored nine goals in its first games against Owatonna and had been averaging at least 10 goals a game in its previous four games.
Seykora noted that playing better defense was a priority for the Huskies.
“We knew we had to step up defensively to win the game and the players rose to the challenge,” he said.
Unfortunately, the Raiders twice found and took advantage of cracks in the Huskies’ defense in the final minute of the second quarter so the game was tied 3-3 at halftime. Despite surrendering two goals in one minute, Seykora was proud of how Owatonna responded to that run.
“Lacrosse is a huge game of momentum and we have been on both sides of it this year. The biggest thing is to not panic and still stick to the game plan. Our kids stayed calm and just kept playing the game,” he said.
During halftime, he discussed a few adjustments that he wanted the Huskies to make in the second half.
“We wanted to pressure a little more when we were on defense and to get the on-field communication up. Offensively, we wanted to keep pushing the action and shoot more,” he said.
In the second half, the physical nature of the game continued, but Seykora was pleased that the Huskies still didn’t commit any penalties.
“That was the cleanest game I have seen our kids play. To be in a rivalry, have a close game and to be as physical as it was, I was surprised we didn't get any penalties. Our guys showed great self-control and played hard,” he said.
In the third quarter, Preston Meier scored a goal, but so did Northfield so the game was tied 4-4 at the end of the third quarter.
However, the score changed just 10 seconds into the fourth quarter when Belting scored his third goal of the game.
“We have been a high transition team and like to play the numbers game. We will take advantage of fast breaks and when we have more numbers on the fast break their job is to put the ball in the net,” Seykora said.
Thanks to Owatonna’s midfielders, defense and goalie Korban Stricklin, the score was still 5-4 until the Huskies tacked two more goals in the final minutes of the game.
“It started with defender Dom Valento. When he started running with the ball across half field, I knew what was on his mind.... he was going to score. He made some great dodges and just fired the ball. Casey Johnson then took advantage the next Owatonna possession and made a great dodge of his own to score his first goal of the season to put the game out of reach. As a coach you have to love the aggressiveness of our team and to put a team away instead of holding on for dear life,” he said.
The Huskies ended up winning the game 7-4 and their record improved to 6-1.
Stricklin saved nine of the 13 shots on goal he faced.
Seykora said the keys to the Huskies’ defenders and midfielders limiting the Raiders to just four goals were lots of hustle and winning the ground ball battle.
“They are very fast team and our guys played right with them. [We] had great communication on defense and played great position all game,” he said.
Additionally, he mentioned that were quite a few Husky defenders that played really well.
“The whole defense and our goalie Korban Stricklin had great games. We were missing one of our starting attack and Zach Kubicek switched from midfield to play attack. He did a great job of ball control and just out hustling their defense. Caleb Belting had three goals so he was very instrumental in the win and Preston Meier is as consistent as they come on both sides of the ball. As you can see by how many I just named, it was definitely a complete game win and everyone contributed in some way.
Overall, Seykora was very happy with how the Huskies played against the Raiders.
“We didn't let any adversity on the field get to us and our goal was to hold them to five goals or less. We did that and won the game,” he said.
After a 15-3 win over Hermantown/Proctor last Friday, Owatonna’s record is now 7-1.
It’s last five regular season games are all on the road. Their next road game is against Rochester Century at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 14, at Rochester John Marshall High School.