Wolverines boys lacrosse notch program's first victory in years

Steady wind gusts gradually made their presence known in the second half of last Friday afternoon’s Southern Maryland Athletic Conference boys lacrosse contest between Westlake High School and host Thomas Stone and eventually the prevailing winds enabled the Wolverines to earn their first victory for their current players and coaches.

Westlake (1-3) co-coaches Jayden Davis and Abraham Holmes had not been permitted to celebrate a victory in their first two seasons together after the 2020 campaign was nixed by the COVID-19 pandemic. But last Friday afternoon, after spotting the host Cougars a pair of two-goal leads in the first 10 minutes of play, the Wolverines ended a prolonged drought the program by enjoying one of their own on a smaller scale.

“It’s all about the hard work these guys put in,” said Davis, a Westlake alum and former player. “We’re going to allow them to celebrate this one, but this win was all about them. For us, we’re focused on the next game and the season ahead.”

Stone (0-4) has now lost all four games this season by a combined sum of 10 goals, three of them by identical two-goal margins. But during the early stages of last Friday’s contest against the Wolverines, the Cougars appeared well on their way to earning their first win of the season. Stone got one goal each from Josh Campbell, Cruz Orfield and Jax Quabal for an early 3-1 lead.

“We came out with a lot of energy in the first quarter,” Stone coach Dan Perrotta said. “But then we just struggled offensively in the next three. Our guys played hard, but you have to give Westlake credit. Their guys played with a lot of heart. They’re a scrappy team, just like us.”

Stone’s early lead, however, evaporated before the first quarter expired as Donte Darden scored two goals for the Wolverines over the last minute to bring the Wolverines even at 3-all. Westlake then claimed the lead for good in the second quarter when C.J. Chubbs and A.J. Alfred each scored once as the Wolverines’ defense and goalie Elijah Taplizo kept the hosts off the board.

Chubbs completed his ‘hat trick’ in the early stages of the third quarter to give the visitors a 6-3 lead then Orfield ended the Cougars’ prolonged drought of nearly 20 minutes when he notched his second of the day with seven minutes left in the third quarter. Neither team scored again as Taplizo recorded four saves in the fourth and Orfield hit the left post twice on genuine scoring chances for the Cougars.