Maroon Beats Saints for Spot at Championship
By Coach Scott Conklin
The Maroon faced a tough St. Christopher’s team on Friday in the No. 2 vs No. 3 semifinal matchup of the VISAA state tournament. The Saints entered the game having won 30 of their last 32 games to go along with an impressive 9-1 record in 2021. The game was evenly matched in the first half as both teams traded goals throughout, and the halftime score stood at 5-4 in favor of the Saints. An early second half goal by St. Chris pushed the lead to 6-4 before the Maroon began their rally in the middle of the third quarter.
The Maroon faced a tough St. Christopher’s team on Friday in the No. 2 vs No. 3 semifinal matchup of the VISAA state tournament. The Saints entered the game having won 30 of their last 32 games to go along with an impressive 9-1 record in 2021. The game was evenly matched in the first half as both teams traded goals throughout, and the halftime score stood at 5-4 in favor of the Saints. An early second half goal by St. Chris pushed the lead to 6-4 before the Maroon began their rally in the middle of the third quarter.
Nate Kabiri ‘23 was the offensive star with seven points on the day. Bear White ‘21 added three key goals and Caulley Deringer ‘23 added four total points on two goals and two assists. Andrew Caslow ‘21 proved to be clutch with the last three goals of the game, which completed a 6-0 EHS run from the 9:37 mark in the third quarter to the 6:09 mark in the fourth quarter and extended the lead to 10-6.
The story of the game was the outstanding play of goalie Thomas Gibert ‘21 (12 saves) and the defense. Lawson Laverty ‘21, Andrew Lehman ‘22, Graham Riddle ‘22, Alec Riddle ‘22 and Zack Ough ‘22 played an intensely physical and smart game throughout. Aiden Nelson ‘23, Jake Crowley ‘21, and Jack Dupuis ‘23 provided tough defense from the midfield position. Victor Salcedo ‘22 played a gritty game against one of the country’s top face-off specialists.
The win advanced the Maroon to their first VISAA title game since 2011.
