Two short years ago, the Morgantown boys lacrosse team ran the table in the West Virginia Scholastic Lacrosse Association – 16-0 overall, including the State championship.
Last season, the Mohigans wanted nothing more than to defend their title, but were bounced from the playoffs by rival University, and as you might imagine, this hasn’t sat too well with the 15 seniors on the current MHS roster.
Not. One. Bit.
And so it may not be surprising that Morgantown‘s deep, experienced, and talented team has started their year off in dominating fashion, including Tuesday night’s 21-3 dismantling of Wheeling Park at chilly Pony Lewis Field.
Granted, both teams were shorthanded by several starters who also play ice hockey and are participating in a high school national tournament in California, and the Patriots (1-2) had just three subs to the Mohigans’ 17, but make no mistake – MHS looks like a powerful contender.
The Mohigans had scored 20+ goals in both games while surrendering just 11 total goals, and they continued the trend against the Patriots, dominating possession, peppering WP keeper Kameron Dietrich (who finished with an impressive 20 saves) with dozens of shots and building an 8-0 lead after the first quarter and a 15-0 advantage before Park finally got on the board late in the first half.
Running clock in the second half suppressed the totals, but Morgantown broke the 20-goal barrier once again. Luke Quigley led MHS with 5 goals and 2 assists, Anthony Vessecchia had 5 goals and one helper, Nathan Lindsey, Nathan Ross, and Patrick Aucremanne scored two goals each, and Levi Anthony, Matthew Brown, Dominic Sellaro, Evan Burton, and Spike Thompson also tallied for Morgantown (3-0).
MHS coach Jeremy Bennett was pleased with the way his team didn’t miss a beat despite missing key starters.
“We stress a ‘next-man-up’ mentality,” he explained. “We knew we’d have to go deeper on our bench than usual, but we try to run the same systems for both JV and varsity, so everyone can be on the same page for what to do and what’s expected of them, and I thought we did that well tonight. We also were very unselfish tonight, which is a great thing to see in games like this. We moved well with and without the ball, made the extra pass, and just played a very solid game.”
Bennett didn’t hesitate a second when asked about the Mohigans’ expectations for this season.
“It’s the same every year – we want to be State champs,” he stated. “Our challenge is to stay focused all year, every practice, every game. Part of that is the way the postseason is set up – Region 1 East (MHS, University, Fairmont Senior, Spring Mills, and Martinsburg) will only send four teams to the playoffs, and seedings will be important, so every game is meaningful.
“There is no doubt in my mind that we will be challenged,” he continued. “There are lots of good teams in the state, and we are going to have to respond to adversity – injuries, tough defenses, a hot keeper, skilled offensive players. But I also have no doubt that we have the skill and experience to play any style of game we need to win games. Our goalie (senior Dylan Shinkovich) and defense (led by senior Spike Thompson) are strong, and we have solid talent and depth through the midfield and balanced scoring (led by senior Ayden Shepard).”
“We will be tested,” he repeated with a grin. “The question that remains is how we will respond, and I’m looking forward to seeing what that response will be.”
The Mohigans travel to Spring Mills Friday night, then return home next Thursday against Pittsburgh’s North Hills High School at 6:30 p.m.
