Bighorns nab pair of third-place finishes

The Oasis Bighorns capped the lacrosse season with a pair of third-place finishes at the High Sierra Lacrosse League tournament in Tahoe City, Calif., on Saturday.

Oasis’ under-15 and U13 teams entered the playoffs in third place in their respective divisions.

The U13 team started the tournament with a 7-3 win over the Northwest Reno Outlaws. The Bighorns jumped out to a four-goal lead in the first quarter and never looked back.

By the half, the Bighorns led the Outlaws 6-0. The Outlaws managed to score three goals in the second half before the Bighorns shut down the comeback.

Bighorns midfielder Josh Carter and attackman Nico Hofheins each both scored three goals, while midfielder Donovan Fermaint added one goal.

The Bighorns then faced the second-seeded Mount Rose Rattlers, losing 12-8 in a bid to make the championship round. The Rattlers led early with four quick goals before Oasis midfielder Anthony Lombardo scored for the Bighorns.

The Rattlers ripped off six unanswered goals to lead 10-4 at the half. Lombardo started off the second half with the second of his four goals in the game, while midfielder Mason Wagner added a goal.

The Bighorns entered the fourth quarter trailing 12-5, but they never let up. Attackman Nate Keener scored an early goal and Wagner and Fermaint added goals, but time ran out.

In the third place game against the Spanish Springs Cougars, Oasis cruised to an 11-3 victory. The Bighorns took a 5-2 lead in the first quarter behind goals from Wagner (two), Carter (two) and Lombardo.

The Bighorns added two goals each remaining quarter. Lombardo completed his hat-trick, Hofheins scored four and Fermaint and attackman Damien Billips each added one. Hofheins was selected the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

In the U15 division, Oasis, the third seed, fell 5-3 to second-seeded Mount Rose (White).

Trailing 3-0 after the first quarter the Bighorns answered the bell with two goals by attackman Trey Rooks and midfielder Trent Thorn. In the third quarter, attackman Victor Sanchez connected to cut the deficit to one.

The Bighorns mounted furious pressure in the fourth quarter, but took a questionable slashing penalty resulting in a power play for Mount Rose. The Rattlers capitalized on the power play making the score 5-3.

Still, the Bighorns under the leadership of captains Morgan McAlexander and David Springfield, never gave up. Two more penalty calls resulted in the Bighorns playing most of the end of the fourth quarter a man down.

The advantage allowed Mount Rose to stall and run out the clock.

In the third-place game, the Bighorns put on a show for the sizeable crowd against the Mount Rose (Green) Rattlers. Oasis played all but a few minutes in the offensive end of the field and crushed the Rattlers, 11-0. The Bighorns’ 11 goals were scored by eight players.

At the other end, goaltender Brendan Leary earned the shutout making key saves when called upon. The defensive corps of Springfield, Devyn Frederick, Mason Lofthouse, and Fearghus Keitz shut down any Rattler that brought the ball across the midfield line.

Midfielders/faceoff specialists Kalabe Lombardo and Thorn both went 100 percent on their faceoffs for the game, never allowing the Rattlers to gain a toehold. Rooks was selected MVP.

After such a successful season, several Bighorns are now off to tournament season. Rooks, Nick Delgado, Carter, Lombardo, Tristan Rodarte, Fermaint and Leary were all selected to the HSLL Select Team to compete in three tournaments this summer, culminating in a trip to the All-West Championship Tournament in Morgan Hill, Calif.