There’s no hiding from the spotlight for this year’s edition of the Kettle Moraine boys lacrosse team.
During the Lasers’ 2016 championship run, Kettle Moraine was still considered an underdog as the team that made its first Wisconsin Lacrosse Federation title game appearance. In 2017, not only are the Lasers entering the final game of the lacrosse season as the defending champions and remain undefeated in Wisconsin, they’re favored to repeat after easily disposing of Wauwatosa in the semifinals with a 17-9 victory Wednesday night.
“Last year, I felt a lot less pressure because we hadn’t been there before and we were kind of the underdog,” said Lasers senior goalie Sam Shaver, who saved 10 shots and kept the Blazers well below their scoring average of 14 goals per game. “This year, I’m feeling more pressure because we can repeat, but the feeling is just the same.”
Kettle Moraine (19-3) took a 1-0 lead before Wauwatosa (18-2) tied the score early in the first. However, the Lasers took over the game from there, rattling off six unanswered goals to end the first quarter and scoring twice more to start the second to take a 9-1 lead.
“We started off hot and we rode that the rest of the game,” Kettle Moraine coach Michael Stefan said. “We were hot offensively because of our ride. They weren’t successful in getting the ball to their offensive end. When we were riding, our attackmen generated more opportunities and more possessions for us.”
Wauwatosa made a small run toward the end of the first half to cut Kettle Moraine’s lead to 11-5 as the Blazers scored three unanswered goals heading into the 4-minute, 10-second mark. However, senior middie Jordan Schmid responded with his fourth goal of the half to squash the comeback.
“They’re definitely a good team that goes on runs,” said sophomore attackman Chris Bender, who finished the game with six points (four goals, two assists). “We just had to get our team together defensively as a unit and stop their offense.”
Senior attackman Nick Psicihulis also scored six points for the Lasers. Sophomore middie Malloy Murphy added three goals for Kettle Moraine, as well.
Wauwatosa’s loss ended the prolific careers of some of the most talented players in Wisconsin, including senior attackman Kevin Maxey, who scored five goals for the Blazers. Senior attackmen Cameron Rosario and middie Jacob Cieszynski scored two goals apiece for Wauwatosa, as well.
In the state title game Saturday evening at Carroll University’s Schneider Field in Waukesha, Kettle Moraine will attempt to repeat as WLF state champions against Waunakee. The teams met in April when the host Lasers defeated the Warriors, 6-5.
