Catawba Men’s Lacrosse kicked off their first game of the season Tuesday, February 7th. The boys boarded the bus at 8:00 am to start their five and a half hour bus ride that would turn out to be a sweet victory. This would be the first time Catawba men’s lacrosse has faced Division 2 men’s lacrosse team Young Harris in a season. In their 2016 season Young Harris went 10-5 compared to Catawba men’s lacrosse that went 5-10. It’s safe to say Catawba men’s lacrosse had a lot riding on this game.
To kick off the game Catawba came out strong leading 4-0 in the first quarter. Freshman Colin Beecham scored the leading goal of the game unassisted with 10:40 left in the half. Beecham’s goal was followed by freshman Trevor Bellotte who scored the second goal of the game by a strong shot on the crease. These two freshman have proved to be strong players for Catawba. Trevor had two goals and one assist throughout the game and played a major role in helping Catawba take the lead. Junior Julian Maxey said the defense communicated well. They did a great job of not allowing Young Harris to possess the ball. #9 Dalton Cook said the offense was taking good care of the ball. They did not make any stupid passes and they weren’t selfish when it came to scoring. All in all Catawba men’s lacrosse worked together strongly on the field to pull off a lead in the first quarter.
After a hard fought and well played first quarter Catawba let themselves go in the second quarter. The momentum changed and Young Harris went on a five goal run without any goals from Catawba. Cook and Maxey said this change in momentum came from sloppy ball handling and clearing of the ball. The transitions from defense to offense led to three easy goals for
Young Harris. At the half Young Harris led 5-4 stealing Catawba’s four goal lead from them. During the half players said they talked about what happened, what went wrong, and letting it go to focus on the quarters ahead of them.
Starting off the third quarter Sophomore Cole Fanzo scored two goals to bring Catawba to a 6-5 lead. Points were back and forth throughout the quarter and there was a steady momentum from both teams. No one team took any advantages. Refs called the game fair and the fight continued. During the fourth quarter Young Harris’ Duncan Jackson scored with 9:56 left on the clock to put Young Harris at a 9-8 lead. With 8:30 on the clock Trevor Bellotte assisted Cook in a goal that would tie the game 9-9 and send Catawba into overtime. Each team attempted two possessions in overtime. On Catawba’s second possession the offense drew up a play and on Cole Fanzo’s goal assisted by junior Chase Scott they took home the Victory.
After an exciting victory at Young Harris Catawba Men’s Lacrosse has set high expectations for their season. The team has a lot of fresh feet as well as returning players. Freshman Colin Beecham and Trevor Bellotte will be the ones to watch this season. They both have shown increasing potential and have become vital players to the team. Be sure to follow Catawba Men’s Lacrosse on their journey this season.
