If anyone wrote off the University School of Milwaukee (USM) boys lacrosse team after a handful of losses, it’s time to take the Wildcats seriously once again.
After dropping four in a row, No. 12 USM held off a pesky West Bend squad to claim a 9-8 victory in the Amplify Lacrosse Boys Game of the Week. With the win, the Wildcats defended their Classic 8 – Black Conference title and, more importantly, take plenty of mojo into the final week of the regular season.
“We were on a bit of a losing streak, so it was good to snap that,” USM senior Carson Mogush said. “Our momentum is on the upswing, and we’re going to be a dangerous team in the playoffs.”
USM (8-5, 5-0 Classic 8 – Black) took a 7-4 lead into halftime when Mogush scored his second goal of the game with 2:19 left in the second half.
West Bend (6-7, 2-1) climbed back to within one in the third quarter on goals by senior Ethan Coughlin — who had three scores in the game — and junior Luke Naumann. The Wildcats responded with two goals of their own as senior Ryan Kennedy found the net twice on a pair of passes from Jake Como to give USM a 9-6 advantage. Kennedy finished the game with three goals for the Wildcats.
The Rush would not go down without a fight, however. A goal by senior Gabe Salinas with 1 minute, 16 seconds left in the third and another by senior P.J. Dahlberg at 7:19 in the fourth brought West Bend within one point once again. With about 5 minutes left in regulation, West Bend sent a flurry of shots toward USM senior goalie Alex Sanchez, who stood his ground for the minute-long onslaught. In fact, it appeared West Bend had tied the game with 3:59 left to play, but the goal was negated by a penalty.
“The barrage was a little bit rough, I’m not gonna lie,” Sanchez said. “But it happens as a goalie, and you try to be there for your teammates.”
USM coach Carl Anderson acknowledged that Wednesday’s victory was not the prettiest way to earn a conference title, but he was happy with the way the Wildcats eventually figured out how to stop the Rush’s offense in the second half.
“They forced us to play outside of the game we wanted to play,” Anderson said. “They forced us into a lot of mistakes, but we were able to respond and hang onto our lead in the end.”
For West Bend coach Emmet O’Malley, keeping pace with USM was a sign the Rush is heading in the right direction.
“We were ranked in the top 10 and we fell a little bit, but we can hang with these teams,” O’Malley said. “We know we should be there, and we have three more games to finish the season strong, so we’re going to ride this wave.”
USM is off until next week when the Wildcats conclude the regular season at Cedarburg and Homestead. West Bend hosts Catholic Memorial Friday and travels to Mukwonago on Monday to wrap up its regular season.
Each week, WisconsinLacrosse.com will highlight a select game from around Wisconsin. Made possible by a donation from Amplify Lacrosse.
