Juanita vs. Lake Washington - Game Report
Kirkland - A scheduling mishap with the officiating crew led to a delayed start time for the Lake Washington Kangaroos (6-6) visit to the Juanita Rebels (8-3) for a rematch of the 2015 Division 2 State Championship game. At 7:30 the goalies shook hands at midfield and left for their creases before the starting rosters said their good-lucks and broke off for their starting positions. Going to work at the center line, Stone Secord was disciplined all night, winning a significant amount of possession time for the Rebels, but Lake Washington’s Kendell Jensen didn’t make it easy, using quick hands to take the ball for himself more than a few times.
Both teams were able to get their touches on offense but weren’t finding any success against equally aggressive defenses. Coming up with an interception in the offensive zone, Connor Campbell snagged the errant pass and buried a quick shot to get the Rebels on the board first. Attackmen Mason Day would be the next Juanita shooter to find twine before the quarter would end and with the aid of their defense they were able to close out with the 2-0 lead.
Not taking kindly to the scoreless first period, Thuan Do found a way to get the ball past goaltender Brogan Bartch for the first goal of the second. Taking the wind out of the Kangs’ sails, the Rebels responded with three-straight goals, first from Connor Bell before AJ Peacocke would hammer in his first couple of scores. The quick spurt from the Juanita offense would be just enough to roll into the halftime break ahead of rival Lake Washington, 5-1.
Connor Campbell would get back in the stat book early in the third quarter not long before Connor Bell rang up his second on goalie Jacob Saunderson, his final goal of the evening. Doing his part to keep the rally going, Cade Alonzo connected with the cage for his only goal of the game. Lockdown efforts by the home defense led to another quarter shutout, pulling away from the defending champions with a 7-1 lead. Beau Heimdahl would find a way to get the Kangs back on the scoreboard in the final frame, but AJ Peacocke would fire in his third and fourth goals, on either side of a solo shots from Nick Rhodes to close the night out with the Rebels on top, 11-2.
Continuing forward in conference play, Juanita will host Mount Si at JHS on Friday night at 8 pm before getting tested by Skyline at the Kirkland Lacrosse Center on Monday at 7:30 pm. Lake Washington will look to right the ship in back to back games against Division 2 opponents, starting at Redmond, Friday at 7 pm, then at home against Inglemoor on Monday at 8 pm. By Mark Donhue