Fish out of Water: First Win

July 8th, 2008 by Joel Derechinsky

The past week has been a long one. With three games and two practices in seven days, my life has been full of lacrosse. But it has paid off as this past Wednesday we finally got our first win. It took half the season but our team was finally able to put together a full 60 minute game.

This may sound a little pathetic to some but it was a big step for our team. With the amount of talent in Canada it can be tough to win games. Each and every team has good players; their wins and loses are determined by how the team puts each game together. We finally overcame the lack of our team to put together a full game as we came out on top 9-4 over the Jr. A Mountaineers.

Coming off a 3-3 tie against the top Jr. A team in Alberta, our team was getting into a groove of playing better. We went into this game against the Mountaineers with a lot of confidence. The arena we were playing at had a smaller floor than usual. This turned out to be good for our team because we were able to use the best part of our offense: our transition game. The entire night our team was able to get opportunities, one on one, three on two, etc.

The game started out quickly with the Raiders scoring two quick to start the game. After a power play goal by the Mounties, we chalked up another two against the Mounties new tender from Nanaimo. The first period of play was a good period to come out to. We pushed the ball in transition, we capitalized on offense, and our defense played air tight. The second period was the one that could change the game entirely; we had to come with intensity.

The second period followed very much the same pattern as the first. But this time the Mounties struck first and we responded with four unanswered. With the score being 8-2, the Mounties pulled their newly acquired goalie and replaced him. The second period ended with no more scores for either team. We headed into the locker room with a six goal lead and playing with quite a bit of confidence. But we all realized we could not take our opponents lightly as anything can happen in Jr. A lacrosse. The third period turned out to not be anything special. The Mountaineers scored two more goals and we threw one more in for good measure. Our defense and goalie played solid all game and we able to stand strong and pull out the win.

The second period brought something interesting for me. After blowing a one-on-one with the goalie in the Eclipse game a few days before, I was itching to get another chance at one. As I said earlier, with the floor being small we were able to use our transition game all night. I got my chance, unfortunately, I did not have such good luck again. As a came down the floor I was ready to finally put the ball in the back of the net. With a hard fake to the far post, I was able to put the ball short side and beat the goalie. But as I rounded the back of the net, I came to see the referee pointing at the crease and waving off my goal; I had stepped in the crease before I shot the ball. I ended the game with two assists and one “should-have-been” goal, which is still disappointing to me.

The week brought on two more games as we faced the Edmonton Outlaws and the Edmonton Miners. The Sr. B Outlaws are decorated with pro-players, such as Ryan McNish, Calgary Roughnecks, and many others who play for the Edmonton Rush. We lost that game 12-7 and followed the next day with an 8-5 loss to the Miners. A tough way to end a week to celebrate. This coming week features games against the Jr. Mounties, the Miners, and the Eclipse. Lets hope this one brings more wins with it.

Joel is playing for the Calgary Jr. A Raiders. He grew up in Annapolis, Md., playing lacrosse at Annapolis Area Christian School. He is going into his third year at Gordon College playing under Paul Richardson.

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