Boys’ varsity lacrosse lost their match to Acalanes on April 29 with a score of 17-4. It was the second time the Dons bested the Cougars this year.

The Cougars struggled with getting the ball to their offensive players as the Dons were able to dominate the face-offs and maintain possession. Campolindo wasn’t able to win a single face-off during the first half.

Campolindo defense player Drew Cirelli wasn’t satisfied with the way the team was taking care of their possessions. “If you can’t handle your balls you’re going to have a hard time,” he said.

Acalanes’ face-off coach Pete Musser was happy with his team’s performance. “The face-offs were a huge part of the game,” he said. “Every time we scored we were able to get the ball right back and maintain an offensive possession. What that does to the opposing team is it frustrates and it makes them make rash decisions.”

Acalanes is ranked 16th in the state and is among the top 100 nationally. “They are a very good team,” Campolindo head coach Mitchell Frey said. “We came out there in the last half, put a little more heart and hustle into it, and it was visible in the 4th quarter where we were able to scrap back, but that’s a good team and I have to give them credit for the way they played and they really showed up today,” he said.

The 1st meeting of the season for these teams ended with a much closer score of 9-4 in favor of the Dons. Frey says the main 2 reasons the 1st game was closer was a great defensive showing and an overall better game from the Cougars. “Last time we played them our goalie played phenomenal and we were able to make it a good battle. When the opposing team is playing make it take it it’s hard to get the ball on offence,” he said.

Musser attributes the success of his team partially to good scouting. “Any game can go anyway. We happened to show up today, they showed up last time and made it a lot closer. This time we had good scouting, we knew what we were doing, so I think we were effectively keep them from getting into momentum,” he said. He also feels like Campolindo wasn’t playing to the best of their abilities. “I think they are definitely capable of more,” he said.

With only 2 games left in the regular season, and a 6-4 record in league play, the Cougars are not guaranteed to make the North Coast Section Tournament. “It’s going to be tough, but I am confident that we can make it,” Cirelli said. Frey hopes the loss will be a good learning experience for his team going forward. “I think this is a good wake up call for our kids. We are still looking to make that NCS at-large bid and we hope to build off of this loss and learn from the experience,” he said.