Game Preview: Lacrosse at Rockhurst

Last year the East lacrosse team became the first team to ever beat Rockhurst in the Kansas City area. This year they will look for the same result when they travel to Rockhurst Jesuit High School Thursday night at 7:35 p.m. The Lancers (7-2) have won their last two games by a combined 29 goals against Northland and Lee’s Summit North. The Hawklets (7-3) are coming into the game with a seven game winning streak and they are still undefeated in the Lacrosse Association of Kansas City (LAKC).

Rockhurst has been the perennial power in the area and the state of Missouri for years winning multiple state championships and sending numerous players onto Division I universities. This is their first season in the LAKC that was only formed last year.

The Hawklets are led by second year coach Tim Reidy, who holds a 21-7 record during his first two seasons at the helm. They are in a tie for first place in the LAKC with Blue Valley West High School who is the only remaining undefeated squad. Rockhurst likes to be in control during all of their games.

“We like to play fast and physical so that we dictate the pace of the game,” senior John Quinly said. “We try to make teams play up to our level.”

Senior attackman Addison Degen is the leader for the Rockhurst offense having scored a team high 16 goals and 15 assist through 10 games thus far and shooting over 50% on shots on goal. He also is leading the team in ground balls with 26. The other attackman to watch for Rockhurst is Isaac Zorn who has scored 15 goals so far this year. Junior Jack Maple is the highest scoring midfielder who has scored 8 goals this year, and is considered by many the best player at his position on his team.

On the defensive side of the ball the Hawklets play very physical on hands defense when an attackman has control of the ball. Rockhurst has always been a defense that has made its slides adjacently, which means the closest player to the ball slides when a man gets beat.

Chris Kliewer is in his third year as the head coach for Shawnee Mission East. He has won two state championships in his first two years and is looking for a three-peat this year.

For the Lancers, senior Connor McGannon is the team’s best player on the offensive side of the ball scoring 12 goals and 12 assists thus far. He is also the teams leader on and off the field. McGannon was a first team all-state attackman last year and was one of the few players considered for the Kansas All-American Honor.

“It’s always fun playing against Rockhurst because we grew up playing with these guys,” McGannon said. “I’m excited and it should be a really good game.”

Junior defenseman Mackey Merrill is a three year starter and one of the hardest hitting defensive players in the area. Every time his attackman has the ball he is looking to take it away and start a fast break down the field. He has been first team all-state both years he has played for East, and is one of the two players from Miege High School on the team. Two other offensive players to watch for East are sophomore John Aliber who has 22 goals on the year and senior James Simmons who is an intense midfielder who is good at dodging from up top on his defenders and is an emotional leader on the field.

An interesting matchup to watch for the game is who will win the face-offs between Rockhurst senior Gregory Massman and the Lancers’ junior William Valdivia who is the other player from Miege. They are two of the top face-off guys in the area and both have won over 80 percent of their battles this year.

Both teams know each other well and are favorites to raise the LAKC trophy at the end of the year. The keys will be which team can settle the ball on the offensive end and control the pace of the game. Whoever makes the least amount of mistakes and turns over the ball the least will have a good shot at winning tonight.