Wildcats Win 15-10 over Cushing
In a physical game, the Kimball Union Academy Wildcats built a 14-3 lead and hung on to win 15-10 against Cushing Academy. Senior co-captain attackman Justin Wright (Waccabuc, NY) lead all scorers with 4 goals and 5 assist. Stephen Kontos (Danvers, MA) scored 2 goals from the midfield and dished off three others for assists. Junior Alex Liebert (Mamaroneck, NY) recorded his first high school hat trick, scoring two key goals early in the first quarter to get the momentum moving for KUA. Junior midfielder Ben Hayden (Salem, MA) also recorded his first hat trick of the season and added an assist as well. Cody Danforth (Milton, VT) contributed 2 goals and 2 assists in the winning effort and sophomore midfielder Chris Morse (Hanover, NH) scored one goal.
The team decided to win one for the Grizz when they learned that their former coach, Bill Pottle, who announced his retirement at the end of last season, surprised the players as they prepared for the game. The Wildcats were hot from the opening whistle. Kontos won the face-off, sprinted down the field and fed Wright for his first goal just eight seconds into the game. Kontos won the ensuing face-off and Wright, this time, set up Danforth to put KUA in the lead 2-0 less than a minute into the game. Cushing continued to play with determination and narrowed the scored to 2-1 halfway through the first quarter. Kontos then dished off his second assist, this time to Hayden, to stretch the KUA lead to 3-1. The rest of the quarter belonged to Liebert. He scored his first goal off a tight role on the crease, shooting the ball past the net minder as two Cushing defenders crushed him to the turf. He quickly jumped up, brushed himself off, and 29 seconds later, scored his second goal, this time with a high shot over the goalies right shoulder. KUA added five more goals in the second half. Kontos continued to dominate on face-offs with the aid of his speedy wingman Charles Baldwin (Ashburn, VA), Franklin Boswell-Taylor (Oak Bluffs, MA) and Cullen Boyle (Wilbraham, MA). Baldwin, playing in only his third lacrosse game, picked up key ground balls in the midfield and moved them safely to the stick of KUA’s veteran attack. Sophmore midfielders Drew Caron (Norwell, MA), Chris Morse, Eli Ward (Cambridge, MA), and Sam Wyskiel (Dover, NH) and junior Jimmy Chung (Seoul, South Korea) provided valuable minutes both on defense and offense, keeping the KUA midfield fresh and strong.
KUA’s defense gave little space to Cushing’s hard shooting midfielders. John Planer (Rumson, NJ), Taylor Cowan (Lebanon, NH), and Ben Wyskiel (Dover, NH) set the tone early in the game, forcing bad passes and winning key ground balls. D-polls Juan Breton (New York, NY) and Vinnie Smith (Fresno, CA) added valuable minutes at defense, especially in down-a-man situations. Goalie Jake Gray (Scituate, MA) made several big saves in the first half, and cleared effectively to keep the momentum in KUA’s favor.
KUA (2-1) plays their first Lakes Region league game at New Hampton on Wednesday at 5:30pm.
