(Covington, La.) The Lacrosse Wolves played their first playoff game on Friday (April 13), a rematch with the Ocean Springs Greyhounds in the district semi-final, defeating them 11-3.

The Wolves had a wobbly start to the game, with the defense on the back foot most of the quarter. Due to the Wolves’ offense limited possession of the ball, they only scored three goals in the first quarter. Ocean Springs spent the majority of the quarter on the offensive, but the defense held the Greyhounds to a single goal, finishing the quarter 3-1.

The second quarter gave the defense a much-needed break, and the defense’s renewed energy proved troublesome for the Greyhound offense, who were held scoreless this quarter. With more time possessing the ball, the Wolves offense peppered the Greyhound goalie with shots. Unfortunately, those shots were not the most accurate, and the Wolves only scored three goals after getting off 18 shots on the opponent’s goal, going into halftime 6-1.

In the third quarter, the Greyhounds’ frustration was starting to show, and they ended up in the penalty box three times. The Wolves gladly used those extra man opportunities to score, finishing with four goals in the quarter. The Greyhound offense was invigorated by its frustration, and this allowed the team to gain back a goal on the Wolves, ending the quarter 10-2.

Ocean Springs did not want this to be their final game of the year, and they fought the Wolves hard on both sides in the final quarter. Their defense tightened its play considerably and held the Wolves to only a single goal. Unfortunately for them, the Wolves’ defense is not intimidated by anything, and it refused to give the Greyhounds even a shred of hope of a comeback, only allowing one goal, finishing the game 11-3.

The score of this game was very similar to the score of the previous game between St. Paul’s and Ocean Springs, but the game itself was definitely not the same.

“Offensively we left a lot on the field; we struggled to finish opportunities we usually put away. As always, the defense played lights out and made up for a poor offensive performance,” junior attack man Ian Varney said.

Playing at home helped the Wolves, and even if they did not score as much as in the previous game against the Greyhounds, the offense took many more shots. Even though the defense knew what to expect, Ocean Springs was still able to score due to improved play compared their last bout against the Wolves. This was Ocean Springs’ seniors’ final game, and that was undoubtedly a huge motivating factor for them.

The road to state for the Wolves is about to get bumpy, and the Wolves need to prepare themselves for the district final against the Lower Alabama Bayhawks Saturday (April 21) at 3 p.m. in Hunter Stadium.

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IMPORTANT STATS

OFFENSE

Chris Flood- 7 assists

Paxton Ballard- 4 goals 1 assist

Ian Varney- 3 goals

Jarrett Meibaum- 3 goals

Austin Holincheck- 1 goal

DEFENSE

Hyde Healy- 1 forced turnover 3 ground balls

Michael Philippe- 2 forced turnovers 2 ground balls

Robby Nolan- 4 ground balls

Jackson Gold- 2 forced turnovers

Grant Addison- 1 forced turnover 2 ground balls

Jakob Massey- 2 ground balls

J.C. Flick- 9 saves 1 forced turnover 5 ground balls