The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
If their season opener is any indication of how the Wilson boys’ lacrosse team will do this season – the Bruins will be right in the mix as they look to win another Moore League title.
The Bruins jumped out to an early lead against Lakewood and didn’t look back as they defeated the Lancers 9-0 on Wednesday to win their Moore League opener.
Jaxson Dannell and Cash Riordan each recorded hat tricks as the Bruins completed the shutout for the win. The duo were able to help the Bruins adjust once the Lancers switched to a zone defense to combat Wilson’s high-powered offense.
“At first we prioritized outside shooting,” Dannell said of how they attacked Lakewood’s defense. “I wanted to do that a lot to capitalize off their zone defense, but they did play really well and I’, very impressed. They did hold us down a lot, especially in the second half, but then we kept doing our thing.”
The first quarter was an all-out blitz by the Bruins who will play differently for first-year coach Erick Bear who wants to prioritize letting his guys play with a natural flow and take what the game brings them instead of being locked into one style of play.
That showed as five different Burins scored as they took a 5-0 lead. Dannell, Riordan and Ivan Van Divort, Ty Kernan and Kaden Wright all found the back in the opening period. In the goal Ryan Bruce completed the shutout for Wilson.
“There’s always room for improvement,” Wilson coach Erick Bear said. “But we had a shutout and I’ve never had a shutout before.”
In their first real game, the Bruins are excited about their new style of play and what they can accomplish the rest of the way.
“Coach prioritizes a lot on our free flow and letting us do our thing,” Danell said. “It’s a big change, but I can’t lie, I love it. I love doing this.”
“It was a good first show,” Riordan added. “We were a little skeptical coming in just because we have such a freshman base, but we have a really good senior and junior core. I fee like it’s going to go well. We got everyone trying to chip in and get better.”
For Lakewood, it wasn’t the result they were looking for but coach Fernando Viramontes he was proud of how the team responded after getting punched in the first quarter.
“Our defense tightened some screws and we figured out what would work for us,” Viramontes said. “Although we didn’t score, the offense will pick up.”
After the Lancers gave up five early goals, the Lancers and goalie Chris Masias gave up four goals in the final three periods – a big improvement from the opening frame.
Wilson will be right back into league action when they head to Downey next Tuesday, while Lakewood hosts Long Beach Poly.
