In a struggle for the ball, Truitt Forse ’27 (Round Rock High School) prepares to steal the ball from a Vandegrift player behind him. Forse, an attacker, is the lone freshman on the varsity team.
Wedged between two Vandegrift players, midfielder Thomas Burke ’25 attempts to intercept a pass between the player in front of and behind him. This pass, which succeeded, resulted in a Vandegrift goal less than a minute later.
After a Vandegrift player lost control of the ball, Hayes Loyd ’24 moves in and prepares to take the ball. Loyd, a midfielder, scored Westwood’s first goal less than a minute into the game.
Rushing down the field, midfielder Case Reinarz ’25 (Round Rock High School) is charged at from behind. It is Reinarz’s first year on the Westwood lacrosse team.
Going on the defensive, Nicholas Jacomides ’24 (McNeil High School) strikes a Vandegrift attacker in hopes that they’ll drop the ball. Jacomides, a defender, has been playing with Westwood Lacrosse for 4 years.
Ready to throw the ball to a nearby player, Case Reinarz ’25 (Round Rock High School) crosses a Vandegrift defender. Westwood Lacrosse accepts players from Westwood, McNeil, and Round Rock high schools.
The varsity men’s’ lacrosse team, comprised of players from Westwood, Round Rock, McNeil, and Cedar Ridge high schools, played Vandegrift in a fast-paced and intense match at McNeil’s Maverick Stadium on Wednesday, Feb. 21, finishing the game with a colossal 10-3 loss.
Throughout the first quarter, Westwood played offensively, with a goal made by Hayes Lloyd ‘24 less than a minute into the game and another goal made by Ryan Lord ‘24 (Round Rock High School) with three minutes left in the quarter.
“The first quarter was our best quarter,” Lloyd said. “In the second quarter, I think it was the turning point in which the team kind of lost belief in itself.”
The second quarter was characterized by a swift offensive turn by the Vipers, scoring five goals in the 12-minute period, forcing Westwood into a defensive position to prevent any further loss. Fortunately, with just three minutes before halftime, Loyd was able to score yet another goal, rounding out the first half of the game at 5-3 with Vandegrift on top.
“Obviously, there’s always room for improvement,” Sam Strain ‘25 said. “We were making some really bad plays in the first [quarter], getting a ton of turnovers, but we kind of turned it up in the second quarter and played alright.”
Moving into the second half, Westwood remained in the deficit forcing them to continue their defensive position, as the Warriors were unable to score for the rest of the game while Vandegrift was able to score two goals in the third quarter and an additional three goals in the final, ending the game in a brutal 10-3 loss.
“The effort was there, it’s just that all the small things weren’t,” Zach Propes ‘25 said. “Communication, passing, catching, ground balls, it just wasn’t there.”
The varsity men’s lacrosse team will face Anderson at the Warrior Bowl at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, March 2. For more information, visit westwoodlax.org.
