Dragons lacrosse ride 5 game win streak into Wednesday night Game with Plano
The Dragon High School Boys lacrosse team defeated the Kinkaid School 6 to 4 Sunday to extend their winning streak to 5 games. The team hosts Plano in a District game on Wednesday night at Dragon Stadium.
The Houston-based Kinkaid school was the latest victim of a win streak that has the Dragons beating teams from Dallas, Austin, and California. The Dragons now have a 6-1 record for third place overall in the North Texas High School Lacrosse League’s Northern Division.
The Dragons scored first with Senior Attackman Ryan Juriadini scoring off an assist by Freshman midfielder Paxton Garman. That was followed by Senior Attackman Michael Cox’s goal, with an assist by Sophomore attackman Casey Wasserman, that extended the Dragons lead to 2-0.
Kincaid scored to pull within 2 -1 to end the first quarter. Kinkaid would battle back and score the only goal of the second quarter to deadlock the score at 2 all at half.
The Dragons tallied first in the third quarter. AJ Van den Dyssel, a sophomore middie, returned to action and gave the Dragons a 3-2 lead with an inside dodge and fake, putting his shot between the goalies’ legs. Kincaid would scored to knot it once again with a minute remaining in the third period.
It stayed that way until the Dragons got momentum back midway in the 4th period. Junior Dean DiBello, off yet another Wasserman feed, scored to give the Dragons a 4-3 edge. Wasserman then scored one of his own off a hard, low-scoring shot to extend the lead to 5-3.
Kinkaid kept up the pressure but the Dragon defense responded. Sophomore Goalie Luke Millican, flanked by his defenders, Juniors Nathan Beam and Jack Welding, and sophomore George Elmquist gained confidence as the game progressed.
Coach Bart Sullivan, looking to keep legs fresh and a high level of defensive pressure, employed a midfield switch by bringing on fresh defensive-minded middies when the Dragons transition to defense. The rotation was lead by Seniors Brennan Mollere and Alex Barnes. Junior Brody Danel along with Sophomores Nick Donfris, Michael Tsay, and Victor Simpson also helped stifle the Kinkaid offense.
Face off duties, a critical skill that can create possessions and maintain ball control, are shared between Seniors Zach Bach, Taylor Iniguez, and Sophomore Max Towers. The Dragon offense also looks for contributions from Attackman Holt Stairs, a Junior, and Sophomore Jake Guillen and Midfielders Carson Green, a sophomore and Freshman Preston Deno.
The Dragon’s tallied their final goal on a wild play as the Kincaid goalie was pressured by the Dragon attackmen, causing him to lose the ball. A wild scramble ensued and Cox earned the ground ball, and while breaking towards the goal was tripped by the goalie resulting in a diving, Superman-like goal to give the Dragons a 6 to 3 lead.
Kincaid tallied another goal, but the Dragons earned possession and maintained it for the final 3 minutes to successfully run out the clock and take a 6-4 win.
The Dragons will play three games in a 5-day stretch. Two key North District games include hosting Plano Wednesday night at Dragon Stadium and then travelling to Plano West on Saturday. They finish the week with a home game against a strong Woodlands (Houston) team.