Boys Mid-Season All-American Watch List, Titans Topple Corner Canyon, and Utah Lacrosse is Rolling.
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Olympus Topples Corner Canyon 14-7 In Titan-esque Performance
In a matchup of two of the state’s top programs, Olympus High’s Boys Lacrosse team showed why they belong in the conversation as one of the top programs in the state with an impressive performance on the road at Corner Canyon, beating the Chargers by a score of 14-7 in the KSL Sports/Rewind Game of the Week. Olympus showed the kind of consistency in effort and sheer grit that broke a 43 game in-state winning streak for Corner Canyon.
Olympus scored 14 goals, just a few shy of their season average of 19 but did so against a Corner Canyon squad that was averaging just four goals allowed per game. Only Cherry Creek of Denver has scored in double digits against the staunch Charger defense, and Olympus did it with an impressive team effort led by junior Charlie Droitsch with four goals. Droitch was joined by his senior running mates Gage Phippen and Ethan Hartsfield who added three goals apiece while adding two and three assists respectively to give Phippen five points total and Hartsfield six. Andrew Clayton, a junior, added five points as well on two goals and three assists.
Olympus was able to jump out to the commanding lead that Corner Canyon would never overcome in the middle of a monster run halfway through the third period, and a big reason for the run was the consistently outstanding effort of Weston Holtby (Jr) in face-offs, netting a 78% advantage that allowed the Titans a momentum-filled string of eight straight goals leading into the fourth period that put the game away for good.
Corner Canyon opened the match with a quick goal from Kisen Muramoto just one minute into the game, but Olympus countered quickly in what became an exciting back-and-forth battle through the first half. Blake Franckowiak posted four goals and two assists for six total points in addition to Muramoto’s goal, but the effort of Franckowiak and Jacob Osborn’s two goals wasn’t enough to stem the firepower of the Titans’ run in the middle of the second half.
With the win, Olympus moves to the top of 5A at 8-0, and while a potential showdown with Park City looms, the Titans have to handle business against Spanish Fork, Skyline, Highland and East before the big region showdown against the Miners. Corner Canyon bounced back with a big win over Riverton, 18-2 on Monday, and will take on Westlake Thursday, April 20 in a face-off between two of the top teams in 6A.
ICYMI, the game is available for rewatch here:
Mid-Season All-American Watch List Released*
*Editor’s Note
We will be releasing an updated list with names from the committee on Friday along with the Coaches’ Poll for this week. Below is a reminder of who composes the Watch List committee and how the list is submitted.*
The All-American Watch List is a list of players, nominated by their coaches and a handpicked committee comprised of college coaches, club coaches, and trusted lacrosse observers. As the season progresses, the committee will continue to monitor players across the Wasatch Front and create a mid-season list in mid-April, which is being released below. A reminder that the list works as follows;
Names for the list are submitted by coaches from each team via email request and then verified by a group locally that knows the scene and can verify player potential and ability.
The list is fluid and players can be added throughout the season. If there is player information or names missing from the list that you believe should be submitted, please refer to a coach or email us at utahlacrossereport@gmail.com so we can pass it along to the committee.
Much like pineapple on pizza, these lists will have strong opinions and disagreements, we ask that you remember the important part of the list is recognizing our players and the effort they put in to make our sport great and continue to build and grow the fantastic community lacrosse creates for all.
Utah Lacrosse is Rolling Through ASUN Play
After a trying opening to the season, the University of Utah Men’s Lacrosse team is playing exactly how preseason pundits expected the Utes to play, scoring a blistering 23 goals per game in April, highlighted by a 26 goal outing on the road at Robert Morris that set a school record for most goals scored in a single game. With recent home wins against Lindenwood (22-8) and Mercer, the Utes look to close out the season at home this weekend against Cleveland State at Ute Field on Saturday, April 22nd. Game starts at 7:00 pm and will be streamed live on the Pac-12 website. Jordan Hyde currently leads the Utes in goals with 43, and running mate Tyler Bradbury has assisted on 20 goals in addition to scoring 22 of his own to lead the offensive side of the squad. The Utes will look to send eight seniors out with a win, and fans are asked to arrive before the 6:50 start to Senior Night ceremonies. Courtesy of the Utah Athletic Department, here is some additional information regarding the game;
JOIN US AT UTE FIELD
Fans heading to the University of Utah campus on Saturday evening can enjoy several pregame and in-game activities at Ute Field.
• Parking on campus is free with parking lots available across the street from Ute Field located near the Eccles Broadcast center.
• The Utes will host a pregame tailgate starting at 5 p.m., located in the lot directly above Ute Field.
• The tailgate will feature DJ Fresh with free stickers, posters, trading cards and thunder sticks available.
• Utah's Senior Night ceremony will begin at 6:50 p.m., so arrive early to celebrate Cole Brams, Samuel Cambere, Zach Chandler, Zack Johns, Dominic Mata, Ryan Rogers, Ruben Santana and Branden Wilson.
HOW TO WATCH
The game against Cleveland State will be live streamed by the Utes with live stats and a link to the stream available on the Utah Lacrosse schedule page.
FOLLOW US!
To get inside access to the Utah Lacrosse program including behind the scenes videos and photos, in-game updates, and much more, make sure to follow along on social media (Instagram:
@UtahLacrosse | Twitter: @UtahLacrosse).
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
• After being picked to win the ASUN in the preseason poll, the Utes have clinched their spot in the ASUN Championship for the second year in a row.
• Utah leads the ASUN in assists (9.08), ground balls (37.67), points (25.92) and turnovers per game (14.33), also leading the league in scoring offense (16.83).
• The Utes are the only team in the country that have score 20+ goals in four games this season.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets for the game against Cleveland State on UtahTickets.com.
KSL Sports Rewind Game of the Week
The Rewind Team will travel to Pleasant Grove on Thursday, April 20th to broadcast a matchup of Region Four rivals as the undefeated Cavemen aim to continue their undefeated season, while the Pleasant Grove Vikings look to add another mark in the win column after defeating Salem Hills on Monday. You can stream the game here:
https://kslsports.com/stream/kslsports.com/stream/?stream=4df413cb-c7dc-4a0c-a5f1-ed964a0ec032
We’ll have even more coverage coming later this week. As always, thank you for reading and subscribing!