Lacrosse team celebrates strengths after a tough final game

Bobby Colla

Sports Editor

“This was it,” said Lacrosse Captain Nick Clark about the second half of Saturday’s 26-4 loss to Dean.

Lacrosse lost seven straight games to finish the season, ending with a 1-9 record on Apr. 18.

“The record doesn’t reflect the heart in this team,” said defenseman Kresimir Krtalic. “We’ve fought hard all year, and we didn’t get the record we wanted, but we played hard.”

Head Coach Matthew Johnson alluded to this and said, “We couldn’t be more proud of the leadership on this team.”

After falling into a devastating 16-0 hole by halftime, the Vikings would outscore Dean 3-0 in the early stages of the second half before getting overwhelmed 10-1 the rest of the game.

“We looked at each other and realized it was our last game,” said Krtalic. He said the team did not want to give up.

“No one gave up, and we played till the last whistle,” said Clark. “We were resilient.”

“For a lot of people, this was the last game they will ever play. Which means, you don’t get to put on the jersey anymore, and you don’t get to compete anymore,” said Clark. He said he was proud of the team, adding, “It really means a lot.”

Johnson said the coaches did not have that much to do with the second half outburst the team had.“Definitely a lot of sophomore leadership coming out of halftime,” he said.

Johnson said the team took it upon themselves to play better. “It’s a lot more meaningful when it comes from the players,” he said.

Johnson said the team let little things kill them this year, but never gave up trying and just kept working harder.

Johnson showed much pride in the first team he’s coached at Hudson Valley. “These are kids you’d want with you in a foxhole,” he said.