Samo Lacrosse Holds off El Segundo Despite Lopsided 4th Quarter

Despite a late fourth quarter run by an El Segundo High School team that nearly pushed Samo boys’ varsity lacrosse to the brink of defeat, they stood strong, and closed the game with a 10-8 victory on March 20 against their league rivals. The Vikings started slow from the opening faceoff, but began to dominate as the game progressed.  Swinging the ball around the perimeter, they opened up many drives towards the heart of the defense and capitalized. Captain Joseph Kean (’19) masterfully weaved through the lackluster El Segundo defense, scoring on multiple occasions. Defensively, Samo was able to continuously knock the ball out of their opponents’ sticks in the games opening quarters. Goalie Tyson Zecher (’19) anchored this side of the field as well, stifling an El Segundo team that couldn’t get much past him. “I think our team performed very well yesterday. We came out playing slow—that’s why they got some early goals—but after halftime we came out ready to play and got a large lead,” midfielder Crawford Cushing (’22) said after the game. To the joy of the attendees, Cushing and the Samo Vikings up’ed their intensity coming into the half. The score went from 4-3, to 5-3, eventually reaching 9-3 on an incredible assist from Kean to Cushing—one that threaded through the defenders. This goal capped their 6-0 run. Whether it was this play or the subsequential yelling from their coach that inspired El Segundo is unknown, but this goal set a flame regardless in the El Segundo roster during the fourth quarter. Samo’s lead slowly dropped, as 9-3 turned into 9-6, and then 10-8. Luckily, time expired at this score, and Samo Lacrosse walked away with the victory.  “I think we got lazy and started to play less hard since we built a large lead. Once we started to play as a team again near the end, we were able to secure the win,” Anthony Perini (’21) said. Nonetheless, a win is still a win, and Samo Lacrosse was able to hold their ground against the opposition. Their next home game will be Friday, March 22 at 7 p.m. against Peninsula High School.