By Travis Smola
The Vicksburg varsity boys’ lacrosse team started off its season with a hard-fought physical contest against rival Portage Northern, but came away with a low-scoring 6-4 win.
“I think everyone played hard. I think the referees called a good game,” new Head Coach Mike Malloy said. Senior midfielder Krew Conroy opened the scoring for the Bulldogs early in the first and tacked on a second crucial goal in the game’s waning minutes.
Senior Midfielder Michael Kessler had a hat trick of three goals in the contest. Sophomore attacker Nicholas Anstead accounted for the other Bulldog goal.
The Huskies tacked on a late fourth goal in the game’s final minutes, but Kessler’s third goal of the contest helped seal the deal for the Bulldogs.
“We were lucky to really hang on at the end there,” Malloy said. “This was the first bit of adversity that they’ve faced and as you could see, it was a little bit of a challenge. But they rose up to it at the end.”
He said he’ll be looking forward to seeing how the players respond to this adversity in their upcoming practices. Malloy brings previous coaching experience at the middle school and varsity level in another district close to Vicksburg. He also previously served as an assistant for Olivet College and spent some time coaching overseas as an assistant for the Dutch Men’s National Team.
This team has had an extremely strong start to the season, beating big-name teams like Pontiac Notre Dame Prep. In their latest game, a close contest against Harper Creek, the Bulldogs snatched away a 9-8 victory in the final four seconds of the game to bring their record to 5-2 for the year.
Many eyes will be watching this Bulldogs team this year as it attempts to defend its Conference Crown for a fourth consecutive year in the Southwest Michigan Lacrosse League.