A decisive 16-1 win against the visitors from West Seattle on Friday, May 3, the final match on the regular season schedule, sent the Bainbridge High School varsity boys lacrosse team swaggering into the playoffs at the head of the 3A Metro pack and with a flawless 4-0 conference record.
Their overall season record is 14-4.
Ballard and Roosevelt are tied for second place (1-3 in conference; 6-7 overall), and Nathan Hale, West Seattle and Franklin-Garfield are tied for fourth place.
After a bye week, the Spartans will play their first postseason outing at home against an opponent TBD at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18.
Against West Seattle, the island squad got ahead quickly and were safely in the lead throughout, with strict marching orders from the coaches to play safe and not get hurt.
“We’re so lean,” said BHS Assistant Coach and team spokesman Jacob Hayashi. “Our bench isn’t super deep, so if anybody gets hurt then it’s going to be tough in the playoffs.”
It’s already been a bit of a problem, with several key Spartans forced to the sidelines at least temporarily. However, Hayashi said so far everyone is expected to return to the field.
“Things are going well,” he said. “We’ve had a few injuries so we’re kind of light.
“Their energy and everything has just been really great and that’s carried us pretty well,” he added. “Our offense seems to be looking pretty well for the most part.”
Scoring efforts against Wildcats were led by Charlie Hughes and Riley Cawman, who both managed three goals.
Chris Campbell put up two, as did Cole Emerson and Jaden Mass.
Wyatt von Bereghy, Max McLeod, Macario Foster and Niko Constan each managed one apiece.
BHS’ man in the net, Dawson Friers managed a solid six saves for seven shots.
Looking ahead into the as-yet-murky brackets on the playoffs, Hayashi said he and the other coaches were impressed with the team’s performance thus far and cautiously, but earnestly, hopeful about a shot at the big show.
“At the beginning of the year we didn’t really know what to expect, but we’re really impressed with how hard the boys are playing,” he said. “We all think that we have a really good chance this year.”
