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It’s been a brutal stretch for Canby lacrosse, and it didn’t get easier for the squad this past week. Though they showed improvement, the Cougs fell to both Lakeridge and Lake Oswego.
The Cougars (6-9, 0-7 TRL) began their week with a Tuesday game against Lakeridge (15-2, 7-0 TRL), one of the best teams in the state. In their game a few weeks prior, the Pacers dominated from the very start, scoring four quick goals en route to a 12-3 win.
This time around, it was the Cougars who struck quickly. Just 13 seconds into the game, Tyler Konold powered past the defense and fired a shot to give Canby a 1-0 lead. Konold nearly scored again a minute later, with an open chance that sailed just barely wide.
Konold led a rejuvenated first-quarter offense that kept the Pacers on their toes. Canby was ahead for the first five minutes of the game before the Pacers began to chip away. Peter Gutwald’s goal while falling down knotted the game 1-1 before Preston Stewart’s shot four minutes later broke things open.
From there, Lakeridge controlled the attack. The Pacers scored two goals in 27 seconds to jump out to a 4-1 lead. Konold dashed by the defense again to cut the score to 2-4, but his efforts were not enough.
The strong Pacer team, winners of nine straight, continued to pour it on. This time around, though, things were a bit different. Over their nine-game win streak, the Pacers have won all but two games by nine or more.
One of those was against the Cougars on Tuesday night. Cam Lee, Carter Sprague, and Will English all scored, and although the Cougars lost 5-13, coach Trey Bellmore was proud of how his team competed.
“Lakeridge is probably a top-two, top-three team in all of the state, and to be able to show our guys that we can compete with them for at least a quarter is huge,” Bellmore told the Current. “Now, we just have to progress to a full four-quarter game.”
The Cougars would not fare quite as well in their second game of the week, losing 6-16.
To finish out their season, the Cougars play three games over eight days. Bellmore sees them all as competitive games, and despite their 6-9 record, the Cougars’ tough schedule has them sitting at 13th in the state.
“I want to see our guys win two or three games [to finish the season],” Bellmore said. “And I think it’s possible. We have yet to see them put together a full game.”
Canby’s next week sees their final two home games of the season: Monday against Oregon City and Friday against Clackamas for Senior Day. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.