Huskies Win Home Opener Over Montana, 14-13
Over three hundred fans made their way to the University of Washington Saturday morning to catch the opening game of the lacrosse season in Seattle, and they were treated to the most exciting game the Huskies have played in years. Washington beat the University of Montana in a back and forth battle 14-13, behind 22 saves from star goalie Cam Moore (Garfield). The Huskies improved their record to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in league play this season, their best start since 2002. Montana drops to 1-1 on the year, with a win over Gonzaga coming last week. The Griz moved to division 1 of the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League this year after winning the division 2 national championship last year.
Saturday’s match up was ripe with local connections, with the Huskies made up almost exclusively of Seattle area players and the Griz boasting Willy Delius and Sam Cameron from Bainbridge along with Henry Sulzbacher from Nathan Hale. All three were all-state performers in their high school careers here in Washington.
The game started with a defensively dominated first period. Senior Captain Townsend Hall opened the scoring for Montana with shot to the low left corner, but the Huskies answered on man up with a goal from junior Jacob Sonkin (Mercer) to even the score going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter both teams exploded offensively, with 14 total goals scored in the quarter. Montana scored four straight goals in transition to turn a 6-4 deficit into an 8-6 lead with three minutes remaining, but freshman Joe Cramer (Lakeridge, OR) canned an outside shot on man up and on the ensuing possession junior Nick Tierney (Issaquah) found sophomore Sean Forsyth (Bainbridge) on the doorstep to tie the game 8-8 at halftime.
The second half began with the offenses continuing their barrage on both ends of the field. The Huskies and Griz battled back and forth throughout the quarter, with Montana continuing to score on their feet and the Huskies via the pass. On the day, the Huskies had twelve assists compared to five for Montana. Moore buckled down in cage after the Griz took an 11-10 lead midway through the third and held Montana scoreless for the rest of the quarter. The Huskies scored three goals to close the quarter, capped off by freshman Tanner Means’ (Vashon) first goal of the season to make it 13-11 going into the final frame.
The Griz opened the fourth with an early goal from senior Captain Tucker Sargent to close the lead to one, but with 8:49 remaining a perfect dodge and finish from Sonkin pushed Washington’s lead back to two. The Huskies maintained possession for about four minutes until Montana’s junior goalie Colin Connery made a save and clear with 2:30 remaining. The Griz went man up and scored almost immediately on a doorstep goal, making the score 14-13. On the ensuing face off the Huskies gained possession and threw it away immediately, Montana took multiple shots and denied several Washington clear attempts in the next minute but Moore’s heroics in cage were too much for the Griz. Delius drew a thirty second hold with thirty three seconds left in the game and it all came down to Montana’s man up and Washington’s man down team. Hall found himself open on the crease and shot top right, however Moore made a miraculous save with ten seconds left and threw the ball up field. Time expired with the ball on the ground and the Huskies stormed the field to dog pile their goalie, who in his first season in cage has now amassed 102 saves compared to 53 goals against for a staggering 66% save percentage.
The Huskies were led on offense by Forsyth’s 5g 2a and Sonkin’s hat trick, while freshman Steve Frankel (Mercer) pitched in 2g, 2a, Cramer had 1g, 3a, junior Chris Hutchinson (Issaquah) tallied 1g, 1a, Senior Adam Sangeorzan (Seattle Prep) scored a goal, and sophomore Max Irish (Bainbridge) and Tierney rounded it out with two assists a piece.
With the win Washington moves closer to a conference tournament berth. Washington’s next game is against #20 Simon Fraser University in the Dempsey Indoor Center at the UW on Thursday March 21st at 7pm, followed by a match up against #10 Sonoma State on Saturday March 23rd at 1pm.
