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Sports

Solon Boys' Lacrosse Falls Hard To Western Reserve Academy

Pioneers' tactical style simply too much for Comets

Sometimes, it’s just not your night – even on Senior Night.

The Solon boys' lacrosse team had 13 players and a pair of team managers accept flowers and take their bows at halftime like it was graduation day, but it was the Western Reserve Academy that did all of the schooling, wiping out host Solon, 19-10, on Friday night.

From the start, the Pioneers (11-8) relentlessly pounded the Comets (8-4) with superior offense and goaltending to gain 10- and 11-point leads throughout much of the second half, while Solon consistently fumbled and flipped away possessions to dim their chances.

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Solon has lost its last two games, including a 16-13 loss to Medina on Wednesday, after a six-game winning streak. Medina and WRU are among the top-ranked teams in the state.

Solon coach Hans Rydquist said WRU plays a finesse-based style that is unusual for this area and travels to face many of the country’s top teams. The coach felt the Pioneers’ reputation might have spooked his team.

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“I think we had a little bit of the awe-factor going into this game. Our kids stepped on the field watching them saying, ‘wow, they’re good.’ It took us a little while to shake that up,” Rydquist said. “And we’re used to being able to score on a lot of our shots, and we faced one of the top goalies in the nation. He saved a lot of our early ones, and I think that scared our kids.”

WRU junior Michael Gulasey had seven goals, senior Dillon Giorgis had three goals and one assist and junior James Dahlheimer had three goals. Senior goalie Kyle Bernlohr had two goals and 14 saves before Martin Presley replaced him in the fourth quarter.

Solon junior attacker Sean Smith had four goals and an assists to lead Solon, including the team’s only first-half goals, but by then, the Comets trailed, 8-3, with 2:08 left in the second quarter and the game was effectively over.

Solon’s big guns were shut down as senior Matt DiCarro and junior Tres Barksdale each had a goal and an assist, while sophomore Drew Barksdale had an assist. Sophomore Jordan Rodriguez was brought up from junior varsity and produced a goal.

“One of the things we worked on was transition all week. We wanted to open the field up and run the ball as much as we could and that kind of had to do with scoring a lot of goals,” WRU coach Mat Wilson said.

And score the Pioneers most certainly did.

The Pioneers sprang to a 4-0 lead to open the game. But just as Smith got the Comets on the board at 3:41, WRU’s John McCormick retaliated 22 seconds later with a pass from Nicholas Gasborro to end the first quarter’s scoring.

Smith would shine again in the second quarter with a pair of unassisted goals, but the Pioneers widened their lead with four goals, including two from Gulasey, to lead, 9-3, at halftime.

The Pioneers opened the second half with four straight goals, three of which came on one-man advantages, to lead 13-3, until DiCarro weaved his way through the Pioneers' defense to break the string at 5:27.

Senior Terry Tsivitste had a goal sandwiched between two Pioneers' scores as WRU led, 15-5, after three quarters.

The Comets had two 2-0 runs in the fourth quarter and actually outscored the Pioneers, 5-4, but WRU was adept at countering each run and kept Solon at bay, never allowing their lead to slip below nine goals.

Solon travels to Chagrin Falls for a Tuesday tilt at 7 p.m.

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