Boys Varsity Lacrosse: CCHS Trumps Piper In a Blowout On Senior Night

BY OLIVIA LEWIS

The boys varsity lacrosse team had one of their most important games of the season on Wednesday, March 15, playing against Piper High School. Family and friends filled the bleachers, watching their players and waiting for the recognition at halftime for the seniors.

The Cowboys had a talk before the game, and when the whistle blew they walked out onto the field. They came out strong, winning the first face off as they usually do. The attack and midfielders passed the ball around, waiting for players to make cuts. Senior Luke O’Malley caught the ball and saw an opportunity at goal. He took it himself and scored the first goal of the game for the Cowboys. Senior Corey Schillo won the next face off and passed it to junior Anthony Carmona. Carmona ran the ball in and shot it at the lower right corner of the goal, making the score 2-0. Cooper City won the next face off and took another shot on goal, but the shot was saved. The goalie passed it down to an attack player and they were able to score on the Cowboys. Cooper City quickly retaliated and won the next faceoff. Schillo took the ball down himself and waited for players to make cuts. Sophomore Jack O’Malley received the pass from Schillo and took a shot, making the score 3-1. Schillo won the next faceoff and moved it around the attack. He received the pass back and took a shot from far out, scoring another goal for the Cowboys. Cooper City won the next face off and passed it around. Schillo passed to Carmona, who then ran it in a scored another goal for the Cowboys. The Cowboys won the faceoff again and passed it around Piper’s defense. Senior Craig Barr saw an opening at goal and took a shot, but missed. Piper gained possession and took it down towards Cooper City’s defense. One of the players took a shot on goal, but senior Brogan Ness saved the shot and passed it down to Barr. Barr ran it in and took a shot, scoring another goal for the Cowboys. Schillo won the next face off and passed it to Barr, who then looked for open players. O’Malley made a cut and Barr passed it to him. O’Malley placed the shot right above the goalies head, scoring another goal for the Cowboys. Schillo won the next face off with 30 seconds left in the quarter and ran it down. He took a hard shot at the goal but missed the net by an inch.

The second quarter had started and Piper came out stronger than they did before. They won the first face off and took it down towards Cooper City’s defense. One of the attack players took a shot on goal, but Ness saved the shot. He passed it down to Carmona, who then passed it to Barr. Barr ran the ball in and placed his shot right above the goalie’s head, making the score 9-1. Schillo won the next face off and passed it to Jack O’Malley. O’Malley saw his brother, Luke O’Malley, cut in and passed him the ball. O’Malley took a shot and scored another goal for the Cowboys. Piper was able to win the next faceoff and they drove it towards the goal. A Piper player took a shot from far out, but Ness made another save. Ness quickly passed it down to the attack and the Cowboys were able to put another one in the back of the net.

Schillo won the faceoff and was able to move it down to the attack. The players moved it around until they had openings to take shots. Barr received a pass directly in front of the goal and took a shot, scoring another for the Cowboys. Schillo won the last faceoff of the half and passed it down to O’Malley. O’Malley saw Barr open and passed it to him, giving him an opportunity to take a shot. Barr placed the ball in the upper right corner and made the score of the first half 13-1.

At halftime, families began to walk down from the stands to go stand with their senior. The seniors lined up in the middle of the field, waiting to be called down from the loudspeaker. The rest of the team faced each other and held their sticks up for the seniors to walk through. Each senior held hands with their family members and received flowers and a frame with pictures of them at the end. As the seniors walked down, a huge sound of applause could be heard from the bleachers. Luke O’Malley, Matthew Okun, Craig Barr, Justin Croye, Brogan Ness and Michael Aronson all lined up and took a picture together, happy to have this night dedicated to them.

“I’m going to miss playing with not only my teammates, but my brothers,” Barr said.

The seniors began to walk back to the bench with the rest of their team, ready to win the game.

“It was great to walk on the field with my mom and my brother and to see the rest of my fellow seniors walk too,” Ness said. “It was bittersweet to finally have my senior night after I had been waiting to have one for a couple years. I know I am going to miss playing for Cooper City High School.”

The second half was very calm, with few fouls and few goals from both teams. The Cowboys tried to move the ball around instead of taking shots. The attack and midfield players passed for almost ten minutes straight until they started to make cuts. Cooper City found an opening in Piper’s defense and were able to score an early goal in the third quarter.

With the game coming close to and end, the Cowboys tried to keep Piper from scoring any goals. Schillo won the first face off and took it down to the attack, moving the ball around. The Cowboys passed the ball around for seven minutes before they began to take shots. Schillo received the ball back and took a shot from far out, but the goalie saved it. The goalie passed it down to an attack player who took the ball towards goal. The player took a hard shot from far out, scoring the second and final goal for Piper. The game had a few seconds left when Piper won the last face off. The player took it down and shot the ball, but missed. The whistle blew and the Cowboys ran down to their goalie to say “good job.”

The Cowboys played very intense in order to win the game on Senior Night. Not only did the seniors play hard, but the younger players did also because they wanted to win for their teammates. The seniors walked off the field joking around and smiling.

Final Score: Cooper City 14, Piper 2