O'Dea tops Mount Si in a defensive battle

O'Dea lacrosse recently took a trip east to North Bend to take on 4A powerhouse Mount Si in their second game of the year. To start the game, Mount Si did something that flipped the game plan on its head. Mount Si came out of the game in a zone defense.

Mount Si certainly looked the part in the first few minutes as they started off hot taking the first goal of the game. After that, the Irish where able to slow the game down and get settled in on offense, the zone defense threw the Irish off as they were not expecting it at all.

“We had no idea that they were going to come out in a zone… it was definitely something we didn’t expect,” said Cooper Gissing after the win.

Head Coach Will Snider and offensive coordinator Joey Lucchesi were able to work up an offensive scheme for the Irish to implement against the zone defense. Halfway through the second quarter, the Irish started to get a grasp on the new offensive scheme. The teams defense played a great first half only allowing 4 goals.

After the half, the Irish got hot getting in 3 goals early in the third quarter. The team figured out how to beat the zone defense and were able to get multiple goals off of great ball movement that was able to wear down the Mount Si defense.

Senior captain and goalie Eli Hinson had himself a day, having over 15 saves and stopping countless shots. Hinson really kept the Irish on top with his spectacular performance. This game was no fluke though, as Hinson has been a force for O’Dea since getting the nod to start in his sophomore season.

A few days before O’Dea played Mount Si, Mount Si took on Seattle Prep in both teams first game of the season. In an upset, Seattle Prep was defeated 10-8. this came as a surprise as Seattle prep looked to have a strong team this year. In the end, the Mount Si zone defense must have been too much for them to overcome.

The Fighting Irish has one more game against Bellarmine Prep on March 22nd before they start their in-league games. This year, with the new Metro League format, each team only plays each other once in the regular season. This means that each in league game means way more because there are only seven league games. This means that if the Irish lose, it is much harder for them to win the league.

The Irish will take on Seattle Academy on March 24th highly anticipated League opening game. The boys will look to come out hot against a solid SAAS team that is bring back a lot of defensive prowess. Hopefully the O’Dea boys will be able to overcome the SAAS defense and soar to an easy victory.