While other spring sports have struggled to get games in through the tumultuous springtime weather, the Sun Prairie United boys lacrosse team has played through it. Entering this past weekend, United had already taken on three challengers. After opening the season with a 16-5 domination of Watertown, Sun Prairie had stumbled a bit with a 7-6 loss at Madison and an 11-3 loss at Wausau.
The weekend offered not only a return home from the two-game road stand, but a pair of opportunities to stop the losing streak. Sun Prairie did just that, starting with a vital 9-8 Badger Conference win over Verona on Friday, April 5. They followed that up with a 14-9 non-conference victory over Elkhorn on Saturday, April 6.
While Friday’s Verona matchup was technically a United home game, it wasn’t played in their usual venue. The Sun Prairie East and West girls soccer programs were using Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium that evening to host a quad, leaving the boys lacrosse team to play at Sun Prairie West High School.
United needed every goal it could get in this tight conference matchup and benefitted from a breakout performance from attacker Ben Kalberer. The freshman hadn’t scored in Sun Prairie’s three previous games, but erupted for a team-high four against Verona.
Senior midfielder Chris Anderson was also a vital piece of the equation. He finished with the most points on the team with five thanks to one goal and a team-high four assists. Elsewhere, senior attacker Austin Weber had a goal and two assists, sophomore Gavin Yacovitch scored one and assisted on another, and junior Jackson Jerzak added another score. In goal, junior Jackson Plummer was stellar with 13 saves in a complete game effort.
Plummer also played the entirety of the following day’s matchup with non-conference Elkhorn, played back within the friendly confines of Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium. He nabbed 10 saves on the 19 shots aimed at him to help lead the team to a 14-9 victory.
It was a dominant day on the attack for Weber, who matched the entire goal-scoring output from the visiting Elks with nine goals of his own. He also assisted on three more to contribute on 12 of the team’s 14 total scores.
It was another strong performance from Anderson, as well, with a goal and five assists for six total points. Kalberer kept up his hot streak with two more goals. Jerzak matched that effort with two scores of his own.
Sun Prairie’s hot streak came to an end after the weekend, however. United took on a steep challenge on Monday, April 8 with a trip to face Kettle Moraine, ranked No. 2 in the state by the Wisconsin Lacrosse Hub. The host Lasers handed Sun Prairie a 19-6 loss.
When the dust had settled after playing three games in only four days, Sun Prairie stood with an even 3-3 record on the year. This includes an even 1-1 mark in Badger Conference play, as well.
Up next, United returns home to Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium on Friday, April 12 as they welcome in non-conference Waukesha West. Sun Prairie will close the week on Saturday, April 13 with a trip to Bay Port. Conference play will resume on Monday, April 15 with a home matchup with Oregon.
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Badger Conference boys lacrosse standings
(overall records in parenthesis)
-as of Saturday, April 6
T1. Oregon, 2-0 (2-0)
T1. Waunakee, 2-0 (4-0)
T1. Madison, 2-0 (2-0)
4. Sun Prairie, 1-1 (3-3)
5. DeForest, 1-2 (1-3)
6. Sauk Prairie, 0-1 (0-1)
7. Watertown, 0-4 (0-4)
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