SAN MATEO, CA -- The Aragon Dons boys' lacrosse team overcame a sweltering hot afternoon to top the visiting Sequoia Cherokees 18-6 on Thursday.
Although the Cherokees scored twice in the first three minutes, the Dons went on to score 18 consecutive goals, including eight in the third quarter to put the game well out of reach.
Sophomore Connor Herminghaus led the Dons offense with eight goals, doubling his previous game high of the season. Seniors Aaron Solomon and Nathan Ruttenberg added four goals apiece, and senior Brendan Vroom had two goals and two assists.
“We were feeling a little down after our start,” Herminghaus said. “It was a really hot field today, but our coach did a great job making sure we stayed focused, and we were able to really get our momentum going.”
Although the score was lopsided, the game seemed more tight than the scoreboard suggested. The Dons' scoring came in spurts —-they would score twice in one minute, then go six or seven minutes without scoring. However they broke from that trend in the third quarter and that blew the game open.
“This game really went back and forth quite a bit," Sequoia coach Sam Strickland said. "I think our depth was great, and our guys put up a good fight. We’ve already gone through the X’s and O’s with these guys, now it’s about executing that on the field.”
The Cherokees were led by junior captain Daniel Spotiswood, who scored four goals, three of which came in the fourth quarter.
“He really works hard for the little things," Strickland said. "He definitely deserves every goal that he gets.”
Spotiswood is part of the Cherokees young core that Strickland hopes will lead the team to success next season.
“We only have three graduating seniors this year,” Strickland said. “The fact that he’s already one of our captains as a junior shows the kind of leadership he brings both on and off the field, and I’m exciting to see how he progresses his senior year.”
The Dons (11-4, 4-0 PAL-Ocean) have another league game on Saturday, against Burlingame. The Cherkoees (1-10-1, 0-6 PAL) will travel to Newark Memorial on Monday for a non-league game.
