The Ballard Beavers struggle to get anything passed a strong Bainbridge Spartan defense in a crushing 12-1 defeat at Bainbridge High School Tuesday night. Story by Michael Thornbloom

Ballard went mostly scoreless in this game with their one goal coming in the final 60 seconds. Bainbridge’s defense has been tough so far this season averaging four goals allowed in four games. Senior goalie Charlie Shrout has been a major factor in their defensive success as he pulled in a near perfect game saving 11-of-12 shots on goal.

“Charlie has been huge for us.” Said Bainbridge offensive coordinator Jacob Hayashi. “He started as a freshman and he’s been a staple for our team for a long time.” Hayashi has been apart of head coach Jack Visco’s staff for over five years as well as a Bainbridge High School alumnus. Together they have kept this team competitive throughout the Metro conference and made multiple playoff appearances.

Ballard was already in for a tough game but they were not prepared to lose one of their best players in the second quarter to a big hit. Senior midfielder and team captain Gus Simpson was picking up a ground ball when he was blind-sided off a massive hit to the head. Head coach Don Preston made the decision to keep him out for the rest of the game due to fear of having a concussion. With a team comprised of mostly underclassmen, this game only got tougher for this young lacrosse club.

This Beaver team was promising coming into this year boasting impressive numbers all across the board in their previous season. It was looking like they were ready to shake up the Metro D1 conference with their recent promotion to a tougher schedule. Their rough off-season is turning out to be too crippling as they only kept 11 of their previous 29 man roster last year losing players to graduation and students moving their interest to other Spring sports.

Despite Preston having to lead a nearly brand new team off the back of a now injured captain, he is very optimistic about the potential he sees in his current underclassman squad. Pair that with a schedule full of some of the best lacrosse clubs in Washington and you might see some serious growth in a Ballard team that has had a history of struggling in the big boy division.

Bainbridge secures their first conference victory of the season against Ballard moving them to 1-0. They will prepare to face an O’Dea team (1-0) on Thursday night that just beat Eastside Catholic 9-8 and is looking at taking over the Metro Private division. Ballard will look for their first win of the year against last year’s 1A/2A state champions Seattle Academy on Saturday in a non-league match-up.

Story by Michael Thornbloom