Lakers Lacrosse Falls in Playoff Game, 11-10

With the seconds counting down to the end the first playoff game of his career on the lacrosse team, senior attacker Nathan Rabens twisted his way through the Saginaw Heritage High School defense and uncorked a bullet-speed shot.

However, unlike what happened 103 times prior this season, Rabens didn’t score a point on the shot. The Lakers lost 11-10 in a game described by Saginaw Heritage High head coach Joe Martuch as a “war of attrition” after West Bloomfield roared back from an 11-8 deficit in the final 1:57.

“We’re just thrilled to get out of West Bloomfield with a playoff win,” said Martuch, whose Hawks improved to 7-5 on the season and earned a second-round date with Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice High School next week. “We knew that they were well-coached and that (Rabens) is a great player. Our strategy was to dump it in as many times as we could and hope for the best and it worked out more times than not.”

The Lakers improved their record from 6-10 last season to 10-6 this year, under first-year head coach Ed Anderson. Anderson vowed that although the Lakers would miss senior leaders, including Rabens, captain Alex Lauri, and Zach Lederman, that the team's fans should get used to seeing WBHS lacrosse in the playoffs.

“This is a very talented team — frankly, I thought that we played better than (Saginaw Heritage High) tonight and that the reason we lost is because we were tired. We’re losing a lot of leadership, but we’ll be back. I’m looking forward to developing new players and seeing how quickly I can progress them,” said Anderson, who was greeted by a gang of parents after the game offering thanks.

“We played a very hard game last night against South Lyon (East High School) and these kids put everything they had against South Lyon and I don’t know if Heritage played last night, which makes a big difference,” he continued.

The Lakers fell in a 2-0 hole early in the first quarter, and didn’t score their first goal until Rabens put one in unassisted at the five-minute mark. The Hawks then piled on until attacker Matt Wilson gave Saginaw Heritage High its biggest lead of the night with 4:36 left in the second quarter at 7-2.

The Lakers continued their attack, and according to Lauri, “had a few good chances that just went wide.” WBHS finally struck gold with a goal from Lederman with 1:43 left in the second quarter, and a Rabens goal just 36 seconds later.

The Hawks got back on the board with just two seconds left in the half off of a goal from attacker Joe Scola.

That’s when the Lakers regrouped and mounted a rally. With 8:12 left in the third quarter, Rabens scooped up a ground ball in the Hawks’ zone, ran 20 yards and put a slick move on a defender near the goal before tossing it in. He would add another goal and an assist to senior attacker Mike Hamish before the end of the third to bring the Lakers to within one, 8-7.

“After halftime, we started to see the lacrosse that we like to play — we were making good cuts, better passes, and it was working out,” said Lauri.

Why?

“(The team) mentally regrouped and chilled out and relaxed. The secret of this game is just being mentally fresh. That’s when you make the right pass,” Anderson said.

The Lakers stayed strong on defense with a big save by junior goalkeeper Harry Smith on a shot by Scola, before the two teams exchanged goals early in the fourth quarter before the Hawks scored two more within 40 seconds of each other late in the fourth.

The Lakers came back with a goal from Lederman with 1:57 left in the game and another by midfielder Dillon Sparkman off of an assist Rabens, but it wasn’t enough to win. “They played us a zone and that’s the first time we played against a zone and we were flustered,” Anderson said. “Never make that mistake again, but until then, good season.”