By Travis Smola
The Vicksburg varsity boys’ lacrosse team had a rough season start with losses to Harper Creek and Zeeland West. The Bulldogs dropped their first game against Harper Creek 12-9 on the road before losing at home to Zeeland 16-10.
Against Zeeland, the boys fought hard until the end, but the Dux had the benefit in time of possession, limiting scoring opportunities for the Bulldogs. Zeeland went up 1-0 off the opening faceoff before Colby Leach answered back to tie. Leach had two goals, also scoring the final point of the game for Vicksburg. After Thomas Harsha tied it up 2-2, the Dux ripped off six straight goals to make it 8-2. The Bulldogs never seemed to get momentum back.
“If you can’t pass and catch you will have a hard time holding onto the ball,” Head Coach Mike Malloy said. “They did it better, especially in the early part. Now you’re playing from behind, so you’re trying to press a little bit more.”
Rhodes Conroy had four goals for Vicksburg and Grayson Pratt also had a hat trick with three of his own. After missing a whole season due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are some challenges.
“From the coaching point, you’ve got a short window and it’s all about budgeting your time,” Malloy said. “We’ve probably spent a little more time on Xs and Os. And fundamentally I don’t think we’re where we need to be right now. We spent a lot of time yesterday on fundamentals.”
Another factor that has not helped the early part of the season is that both the varsity and JV teams had players in quarantine. Malloy credited his team with fighting hard regardless. He’s hopeful the team can turn around the slow start once they get some players back.
“These guys are playing hard and the guys in quarantine are ready to get back at it once they can,” Malloy said. “It’s tough for those guys to have to sit out.”
