Marysville’s Luke Montgomery, left, attempts to spin out of the reach of an opposing Lion during an OCC boys lacrosse matchup against Gahanna Lincoln. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
While the end result told a different story, Marysville challenged visiting Gahanna Lincoln during an Ohio Capital Conference boys lacrosse matchup.
It was the Lions who walked away victorious, 11-5.
“We are repeating the same mistakes,” MHS head coach Zac Engel told The Marysville Journal Tribune. “It brings us back to what we’ve been doing three games in a row now.”
Rolling clouds featuring a light mist covered Union County as several attending parents braced what would be a heated OCC battle.
The Monarchs started the first quarter on a strong note, challenging the visiting Lions on every shot attempt.
During the opening minutes, Marysville’s freshman goalie Sean McGee blocked the first shot by Gahanna Lincoln. The ball, however, went back into the Lions’ hands.
The first goal by the visitors came during the middle of the first quarter.
The Monarchs attempted to push the pressure towards their opponent’s side of the field. Marysville’s Isaac Tocci took a medium pass towards the front of the Lions’ goal, only to have his shot attempt blocked.
Gahanna later scored to take a 1-0 edge.
The Lions secured their second goal in the second quarter when Marysville continued to allow them to roam free on their side of the turf.
With roughly three minutes left in the second quarter, the Lions increased their lead with another goal.
Returning the favor, Tocci found an opening within Gahanna’s defense.
He connected on what turned out to be Marysville’s first goal of the evening with around a minute and a half left in the first half.
The Monarchs trailed, 2-1, at half.
Coming back from intermission, Gahanna Lincoln increased its lead to 4-1.
The Lions, however, were later challenged by Marysville’s Luke Montgomery with around six minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Monarchs started to pick up steam with Jameson Best scoring the team’s third goal and cutting the visitors’ edge to 4-3.
That came with around five and half minutes left in the third quarter.
“Shooting, shooting, shooting,” Engel commented regarding how MHS approached the Lions’ defense.
At the start of the fourth quarter, things began to crack for the Monarchs.
They allowed another seven opposing goals to slip through the net.
During that time span, MHS tallied two additional goals.
“Not getting in the penalty box would’ve kept our momentum going,” Engel noted. “We kind of spiraled downhill after that.”
As the final second ticked away, the visiting Lions claimed the win and handed Marysville its third regular season loss in as many outings this spring.
Looking at the brighter side of the setback, Engel noted it was McGee’s first start in the cage for the Monarchs this season as a freshman.
“Our starting goalie was out,” Engel said. “McGee played a phenomenal game.”
Engel added that while the offensive unit suffered, the defensive scheme seemed to put up a fight.
The head coach added this week’s practices will include ironing out a few defensive points, while working to improve the team’s offensive approach.
The Monarchs are slated to face off against Canal Winchester this Friday at its Mike Locke Stadium, starting at 6 p.m.
Marysville will also have another home contest against Avon Lake on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m.