Big Mac Lacrosse Team Crushes North Hills Indians

By Gary Beam

The Indians of North Hills challenged the home-standing Canon-McMillan Big Macs Monday night in a game where the final score wasn’t quite indicative of the struggle that took place.

Although the Big Macs ended up on the positive side of a 14-3 final score, the contest was a tight affair for the first half, with uncertainty of the outcome until late in the third quarter.

After the teams exchanged a pair of first period goals, Canon-Mac garnered some breathing space when Nick Carr and Ben Ward led the offense to a half-time lead of 6-3.

Despite the fact that the ensuing three goals were scored by the Big Macs, North Hills dominated the evening’s face-offs (19 of 21), an area of the game dominated by the Big Macs in previous games, which gave North Hills good field
position, constantly in the Big Mac defensive zone.

The game was still in the balance when Canon-Mac was assessed a three-minute, non-releasable penalty, giving the Indians a golden opportunity to get
back into the fray. But a tenacious defense limited North Hills to one shot on goal during the man-up opportunity and allowed the Big Macs to re-gather, take a collective deep breath, and settle into their normal offensive routine.

The Big Macs went on to score the final five goals of the game, capping off their seventh victory of the season. Canon-McMillan was lead by Carr (six goals), Ward (three goals and three assists), Richie Leeds (two goals and two assists), Connor Neimeyer (one goal and two assists) and goals by Isaac Miles and Zach Mansmann.

Goalie Will Graziani turned in another strong performance with nine saves with key stops early in the game when North Hills was pressuring to take an early lead.

The Big Macs are home tonight—Wednesday—as they face the Seton LaSalle Rebels in an important conference game.

Note: The junior varsity team lost its first game of the season in a lackluster performance, falling to the Indians 5-0. The JV record now stands at 3-1.