The men’s varsity lacrosse team at Hart is now through two weeks of the season with a record of 2-1. Even though the team endured a tough loss to league rival Saugus, Hart bounced back with a win against another division three team in the Millikan Rams. The win came after the team scored the tying goal in the dwindling seconds of the fourth quarter, scored by Zach Saldivar and assisted by Tate Fuller. In overtime, after a shot went wayward, attackman Ethan Jordan took the ball up the left side of the field, about ten yards above the goal, and about eight yards left of the goal. He calmly stepped in, shot a low-to-low bouncer which went offside hip, hit the pipe, and went it. After that win against Millikan, the boys kept the energy up and won their second game against Heritage Christian by a score of 15-8. The offense, defense, and faceoff was dominant which led to the great win by the team.

Offense

Even after suffering a rough defeat to Saugus, 16-4, the boys never gave up and kept competing and giving great effort. In that game Tate Fuller had three goals, and defenseman Justin Chavez had a goal as well. In the game against Millikan, Tate Fuller was again the leading scorer with 5 goals and an assist, Zach Saldivar had two clutch goals and a very clutch assist to Blake Osaria. Ethan Jordan who had the game winner had two goals as well, and Ben Gomez had a great assist. On the faceoff X, FOGO Ethan Capalad fought hard, and did well going eight for seventeen and scooping up six ground balls, and Justin Chavez who took three faceoffs went two-for-three while scooping five ground balls.

Here are the individual stats from the Millikan game.

Against Heritage Christian, the boys had a good offensive showing, scoring 15 goals. Tate Fuller led the way with 8 goals and 3 assists, Zach Saldivar had 2 goals, Ethan Capalad, Blake Osaria, Ben Gomez, and Trent Loftus each had a goal, and Ethan Jordan had one goal to go along with 4 assists. Ethan Capalad won 20 out of 25 faceoffs which helped propel the offense which had 47 shots. The team really turned it on in the second half of the game, with there being 15 shots taken in the first half of the game, and 32 being taken in the second half, and 18 shots alone in the fourth quarter. The boys energy on the offensive side of the ball was awesome to watch, and they were passing the ball, moving off ball, and getting open looks for each other.

Here are the individual stats from the Heritage Christian game.

Defense

Though Saugus scored 16 goals against the Indians, Hart bounced back the next game and held Millikan to nine goals. Defender Peyton McClain forced two turnovers and scooped up two ground balls. Wind defender Ashton Young forced one turnover and scooped up another two ground balls, while supporting them Gabe Valle, Adrian Zamora, Tate Fuller, Ethan Jordan, Justin Chavez, Ben Gomez and Ethan Capalad played vital roles in preventing more goals. Goalie Beau Vought, in only his second game in the cage, saved 50% of shots faced, with 9 saves, and out of the 19 clear attempts, he was successful 14 times. Very impressive from the sophomore goalie Against Heritage Christian, the defense had its best showing of the year only allowing 8 goals. Goalie Beau Vought had 8 saves and a 50% shot save percentage. Sophomore Justin Chavez led the way with 4 caused turnovers, while Peyton McClain and Ethan Jordan both had 2, and Ben Gomez and Joseph Montes both had a caused turnover. The defense played well as a unit today with Peyton McClain, Ashton Young, Justin Chavez, and Gabe Valle at close and Adrian Zamora playing LSM. They fought hard all game, caused turnovers, allowed for the offense to get the best opportunities possible.

Author – Ty is a student-athlete at The Master’s University who runs cross country and track, and is majoring in Sports Management. That would be awesome!

The post Hart Lacrosse 2023: Early Season Updates appeared first on Sports Blog it.

The men’s lacrosse team at Hart High School in Newhall, CA is a promising team looking to turn heads in Division 3 of the CIF Southern Section. With a big defense, quick face off, and intimidating shooters the Indians of Hart High School are looking better than last season where they went 13-7 that was ultimately halted in the second round of playoffs after taking a tough loss 15-3 to the Mission Viejo Diablos. Led by captains Ethan Jordan, Mike Granillo, and Tate Fuller the lacrosse team is looking forward to playing stifling defense, and a patient yet potent offense that is sure to confuse defenses and puzzle the goalie.

Hart High Lacrosse Defense

The Intimidating Size of the Defense

Led by captain Mike Granillo, and supported by Justin Chavez, Ashton Young, Peyton McClain, and Adrian Zamora the defense is looking forward to blending their size, strength, and speed to build a better defense than the team last year which allowed 7.45 goals per game according to Maxpreps. Goalie Beau Vought has been looking very promising in the cage for the year, saving shots all practice. Defensive midfielders like Nolan Byrd, Gavin Bos, and Talen d’Autremont have been looking stout and strong in aiding the defense.

The Patient Yet Potent Offense

Captains Ethan Jordan, Ethan Capalad, and Tate Fuller round out the offensive half of the field by running a unique offense that I will not give away. Supporting cast Peyton McClain, Ben Gomez, Blake Osoria, Zach Saldivar, and Wylie Thompson are looking to create the best opportunities for themselves by bringing a unique style and flow to the offense they are running. They move the ball well, play off ball well, and shoot well too. All in all the team does everything well and they excel at some other things too. Only the season will tell what this team can do.

Hart High Lacrosse Schedule

Hart starts off the season playing top Division 2 team Saugus, which CIF ranks in the top 10 in the Southern Section. Saugus will be a tough yet revealing matchup that Hart will play twice because they are in the same league, as well as West Ranch which is also rated as a top 20 team in the Southern Section. Hart is rated as a top 8 team in Division 3, which puts them in the top 50 of all teams in the Southern Section, yet this team is poised to reach greater heights. Valuable games within Division 3 include Thacher, Millikan, Dos Pueblos, and Canyon of Anaheim. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IHbn93tw_8ZoE-j99NphOGlK44rjCx6nttzks2LoffM/edit?usp=sharing

Hart High Lacrosse Coaches

Coach Daniel Kim played on the inaugural team at Hart High School and later went on to play lacrosse at Cal State Fullerton. He works as the Head Coach and is looking forward to coaching arguably the best team the program has ever seen.

Coach Ty Clanton played lacrosse for 8 years, and won the CIF Division 3 Championship in 2022 with the Vista Murrieta Broncos. Currently, he attends The Master’s University, a small private Christian university in Santa Clarita, where he studies Sports Management and chose to run cross country and track rather than attend another school and play lacrosse.

Author – Ty is a student-athlete at The Master’s University who runs cross country and track, and is majoring in Sports Management. That would be awesome!

The post Hart Lacrosse 2023: A Sleeper Team Looking for a Sizzling Start appeared first on Sports Blog it.