Boys lacrosse earns first win without head coach
Despite the loss of Coach Dave Holland, who had a heart attack on the field during a jamboree March 15-16 in Bellingham, the Wenatchee High School boys lacrosse team won its first league game in a blowout against Lewis and Clark 19-0 on March 22 at Wenatchee Valley College.
During the jamboree in a game against Snohomish, Holland began to feel the effects of a heart attack on the field. “He said he was starting to feel woozy, and that he had a stomach ache. Then, next thing I know, they had called an ambulance and they carried him away on a stretcher,” freshman varsity player Kyle Shmaltz said. Holland is home and recovering, but his return date is not yet known.
Assistant Coach Brandon Parker is now handling the varsity and junior varsity teams. “It’s going to be hard. He [Holland] was our main coach. But skillwise, we’ll still do good and continue to be competitive… He [Parker] is good. He knows a lot about the game and what it takes to win,” Schmaltz said.
The team won three of their jamboree games, winning 5-4 against Snohomish and 3-2 against Mount Si on March 15 and crushing Monroe 6-0 March 16 to make it to the semifinals against Division One team Eastlake, losing 3-7.
Eastmont student Ki-Jana Peterson and junior Adam Chvilicek were the leading scorers in the match against Lewis and Clark, both scoring four goals.
“We had 16 goals assisted, so we had good teamwork in this game. The other team only got three shots, so our offense dominated. Our defense hardly had to play,” Parker said.
In a second non-league game against Snohomish, Wenatchee lost 12-8 on March 20 in Snohomish. Schmaltz, playing attack on varsity, scored three goals, while the majority of the other goals were scored sporadically between the other players. Goalie junior Asa Smith made many key saves throughout the game as well.
“Overall, we played a good game against a tough Division One team,” Parker said.
The team will play Southridge March 25 in Kennewick, and will have their next home game against Richland at the Wenatchee Valley College on March 29 at 1 p.m.
