Despite the Bears’ best efforts and triumphs so far during the season, the Novato Hornets came out ferocious in their lacrosse game against the Bears this past Saturday. Novato finished four points ahead of the Bears with a score of 10-6.

At the very beginning of the game, the Bears made some fundamental errors but bounced right back to demonstrating perfect execution both on offense and defense. However, the Bears’ initial blunders allowed Novato to gain possession of the ball in the face off.

The Bears, not fully tuned in to the game, allowed Novato to claim the first goal, giving them the initial upper-hand.  With the Hornets’ offense on a roll, they kept the perimeter shots coming. However, they reconsidered this plan after senior goalkeeper Chase Connell made five solid saves towards the end of the first quarter.

Sophomore Cole Shaffer got the bears on the scoreboard, bringing the score up to a nail-biting 1-1.  Nick Schlein, a current junior, accelerated the Bears’ momentum as he slid into the middle and made a pass to Duncan McGinnis
pass who made a point-blank a goal, putting the Bears in the lead to finish out the first quarter.

With Bears playing hard, they found themselves up 4-3 at the end of the first half.  Coach Kryger spoke to his team honestly, “This is the hardest I’ve seen you guys play all season, let’s keep this going.”

Unfortunately, the Bears’ efforts were overwhelmed when the Hornets scored four consecutive goals, leaving the score at 7-4 by the end of the third.

A current junior on the team, mid-fielder Jordan Zuk, commented, “We played well in the beginning, but things fell apart in the second half, and the refereeing was questionable.”

The Hornets were able to maintain their lead for the rest of the game, leaving the Bears to trail behind at least 4 goals.  Novato got the “W” with a final score of 10-6.

Looking back on last week’s game, junior Michael Hansen commented on the Bear’s play and how it geared them up for their win against Paly just this Wednesday. “We learned a lot about what our team can handle and used the loss as a catalyst for a week of hard work and winning our first league game against Paly this Wednesday”.

As the Bears progress through the season, they continue to learn from their mistakes and execute hard work and determination in all their games. The Bears battle against SHP on Coach Parks Field this Friday.