Lacrosse History: In 1933, men’s lacrosse rules change to reduce the number of players per side from 12 to the current 10. It also reduced the distance between the goals to 80 yards. Playing time remained at 60 minutes, but was divided into quarters as we see it today. Teams change ends after each quarter.
In 1933 the distance was reduced to 80 yards. After playing on a short field in the last match, the JV Dons walked on to an increased (but normal) 80 yards between goals to face Berkeley HS. Getting back to a normal size field didn’t affect the Dons a bit… they picked up right where they left off. Luke Dafferner continued to show his dominance in faceoffs, which led to an immediate shot by Mason Lanphere that was blocked by the Berkeley goalie. The Dons continued their attack through strong play by Jackson Tseng and Anthony Quinn, but the Berkeley defense held off any goals. What became immediately clear was that this Berkeley squad was going to be a physical one. (This match saw a number of penalties from both teams.) After a Berkeley clear, Owen Hulst recovered and quickly passed the ball back in for Andrew Iams who cut around the goal and scored the Don’s first goal; 1-0. Dafferner immediately followed up by winning the faceoff and running up for the second goal; 2-0. The Dons defended off any Berkeley attacks through strong play by Ryan Yun, Emerson Boudreau, and Eli Romick. Goalie Luke Spinelli added notable saves all night!
The second quarter saw more of the Don’s dominance with possession. Dafferner again won the faceoff and flicked the ball out to Yun. As the ball made its way towards the Berkeley goal, a quick in-bound pass to Logan Houston allowed him to cut across the goal for a nice low shot into the back of the net; 3-0. The Dons continued to dominate on the attacking side with Houston, Grady Evans, Quinn, Lanphere, Dafferner, Iams, and Finlay Geddes, leading to beautiful goals by both Lanphere and Quinn, ultimately ending the half up 5-0. Any Berkeley attempts to get on the board were shut down through great defense by Hulst, Boudreau, and Romick and the nice middie play of Harrison Mracheck, Curtis Sanders, Yun, Dafferner, Lanphere, and Quinn.
In the third quarter, the Berkeley squad seemed to come back on the field with renewed energy. Despite their physicality, Lanphere was able spin and dodge to break through for his second goal of the match; 6-0. Berkeley was able to counter with some strong play and quick runs for 4 unanswered goals. The Dons seemed to rally towards the end of the quarter and Dafferner had a beautiful low shot and goal to stop the Berkeley momentum; 7-4. Berkeley attempted one last attack, but Hulst was able to knock the ball loose to end the quarter.
Berkeley continued in the fourth quarter with strong attempts to gain their own momentum. Yun had strong defense on the first attack that caused the Berkeley attacker to shoot off balance, allowing Spinelli to catch his shot. Berkeley’s next attack came via a run-through where three Dons closed in and knocked the ball out, but the attacker was somehow able to catch it and in one motion shoot and score (have to admit, it was impressive); 7-5. The Dons seemed to reorganize and get their set plays back, which led to a strong shot by Lanphere that was deflected by a defender and then a nice shot by Dafferner that deflected off the goal post. The Dons defense continued to hold off the Berkeley attacks as Romick and Hulst stepped up and Spinelli saved two final shots. The match ultimately ended with a Dons win, 7-5.
The Dons prevailed in this tough match, coming out with quite a few bumps and bruises, but pride of play! A special shoutout to all the Acalanes coaches and players for such positive and encouraging cheering for their teammates! I don’t know that I have ever witnessed a more encouraging player than Jacob Stephen who seems to be the heart of this squad!
Come out to Campolindo and watch these JV Dons battle at 5:30 on Friday!
