With a huge smile on his face, coach Wes Koenig jumped into the arms of one of his players after Scotts Valley capped a hard-fought 12-10 win Friday, May 1, over Aptos High, giving the Falcons the inaugural Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League lacrosse title.
“We’ve been working for four years and haven’t had a goal to go for,” senior Billy Green said. “This is kind of the culmination.”
Despite going undefeated against local teams last season, this season was the first year lacrosse has been recognized by the SCCAL as an official sport, making the championship that much more special for the Falcons.
“It’s really huge for us,” Koenig said. “We have seven players who have been with us from the beginning. It’s their last hurrah.”
It was a hard-fought game that gave Scotts Valley the championship. Leading 10-6 entering the fourth quarter, the Falcons looked to be in the driver’s seat.
However, Aptos stormed back with four goals to knot the game at 10 and then drilled a ball off the post that could have given Aptos the lead late in the game.
Scotts Valley called a timeout to regroup.
“We just told the guys ‘This is it, we need to put something together,’” Koenig said.
Battling fatigue, Sean Kier scored the game-winner, his third score of the afternoon, and was followed by Billy Green’s fifth goal to give the Falcons the championship.
Brad Hartman scored twice while Cody Huckvale and Ryan Chacko each chalked up one score on the wet Aptos High field.
The Falcons faced Robert Louis Stevenson after Press-Banner press time on Thursday, May 7, in their final game of the season. The Falcons have never beaten RLS.
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