Boys' lacrosse ready to power through season

High off their first place finish in league the last two seasons, samo’s boys’ varsity lacrosse team looks to continue their strong play in this season as they set their sights high and aspire towards CIF domination. The team is led offensively by captain Joseph Kean (’19), as well as Anthony Perini (’21) and Tyler Macnamara (’19). Anchored by goalkeepers Evan Miner (’21) and Tyson Zecher (’19), their stifling defense is a noticeable mix between underclassmen and veteran players: Finlay Taylor (’21), Ryan Ezhari (’21), Riley Egan (’20) and Cruz Ramos (’19). The team is rounded out by face-off specialists Monty McAlpine (’19) and Spencer Wynn (’20). In general, the team stays aggressive in their attack, avoiding the boring, low-action and low-scoring matches. Already confident in his sturdy defense, this offensive strategy has been installed into his team’s game plan by Head Coach Benjamin Keiser since day one. “Offensively, our objective is to force the opposing defense into making bad decisions and then exploiting their mistakes,” Keiser said. “We have a solid defense and outstanding goaltenders, so we know that we can get defensive stops when we need them.” With the team full of rookies and young players, they naturally play uptempo and energetically. Watching from his perched position at goalkeeper, Miner finds that they naturally play with “swag”—essentially meaning that they play boldly and courageously for those unaware of 2010 slang. “We play hard, confident and with swag. We play together as a whole,” Miner said. Coach Keiser has also noticed the substantially low amount of upperclassmen on the roster, and subsequently has been looking positively towards their bright potential. “Personally, I’m excited to see how the mixture of experience and novice pans out. We have a real chance to be a great team if we work hard,” Keiser said. If interested in watching this young team blossom into CIF contenders, their home games are mainly played on Fridays at 5 p.m. on Samo’s football field.