Putting up nine goals on a conference foe in Wisconsin’s infamous early spring weather conditions is usually a recipe for success. Keeping the ball away from that same opponent is can lead to a dominant performance.
Arrowhead relied on time of possession, converting on man-up situations and a solid defensive effort to defeat Homestead, 9-4, Thursday evening at Taraska Stadium for its first Classic 8 – Red victory of the season.
“Defensively, I thought we were stout tonight,” Arrowhead coach Jake Sweitzer said. “Our slides were in place, they were timely, and we denied them a lot of their stronghand looks.”
Arrowhead (3-1, 1-1 Classic 8 – Red) fell behind, 2-1, toward the end of the first quarter when Homestead’s Brendan O’Brien was in the right place at the right time for a lucky bounce that found its way into the net.
The Warhawks regained the momentum in the second quarter when they scored two goals within a minute of each other in the second quarter. Homestead (2-2, 0-2) surrendered the first of two man-down goals in the game to Owen Arnett with 7 minutes, 19 seconds left in the first half, tying the game at two. Caden Bence connected on an assist from Joshua Nielsen just 49 seconds later to give Arrowhead the lead for good.
“We struggled moving the ball a little bit, but we found ways to put the ball in the back of the net,” Sweitzer said. “A win is a win, we’re proud of it, but we’re going to keep improving, that’s for sure.”
Arrowhead would tack on two more goals in the third quarter for good measure. Joshua Nielsen scored his first of two goals on an assist from Coleton Borkowicz early on in the second half. In one of Arrowhead’s seven man-up situations, Borkowicz found Connor Koppelman for one of his three second-half goals with just over 4 minutes left in the quarter to put the Warhawks up, 5-2.
“Once you get that man-up offense going, the team gets the wheels rolling,” Koppelman said. “And every time that man-up comes around, everybody is ready to rip it.”
The season is still young, but any victory in the perennially competitive Classic 8 – Red is always invaluable.
“This conference is pretty loaded top to bottom, so getting a win here is always a good thing,” Sweitzer said.
For Homestead, Henry Robbins scored two goals in the fourth quarter.
This weekend, Arrowhead travels to Missouri to take on St. Louis University High School, Eureka and De Smet Jesuit. Homestead heads to Waukesha Tuesday night.
Each week WisconsinLacrosse.com will highlight a select game from around the State of Wisconsin. Made possible by a donation from Amplify Lacrosse.
