Posts Tagged ‘Spring’
Women Notch First MEL Victory
On Saturday, May 9th, the Missoula Elite Lacrosse Women’s team traveled to Spokane, Washington, to play their first games in program history. The ladies from Montana took the field against Three Rivers in their first game and battled the hosting Gonzaga Prep Bullpups in their second game of the day. Much of the game against Three Rivers was spent explaining rules to the players, most of whom are brand new to the sport, and the girls took time to try and understand things like spacing and transition offense.
Midfielders Carleigh LeBlanc (JR, Hellgate) and Hannah Karlsson (SR, Hellgate) got the ball moving up the field and paced the team with a combined 11 groundballs during the game. Offensively, the MEL Women were led by Center Jill Lindbergh (JR, Hellgate) who finished the game with 2 goals, and Attacker Kate Liddle Broberg (SR, Hellgate) who ran the game at “X” and finished with 1 assist in the contest. Midfielder Makenna Reisner (SO, Hellgate) also tallied a goal in the game and Goaltender Sara Hanson (JR, Hellgate) had a solid game and finished with 7 saves. In the end, the final score read 9-4 in favor of Three Rivers, but there were many positive things for the Women from Missoula to take away from the game.
In their second game of the day, the MEL Women were ready to show off their hard work and came out fired to get their first win. Center Jill Lindbergh took control of the game from the start, winning every draw in the first half and going 3 for 3 shooting in the half. Lindbergh’s hustle was matched by many of the other MEL girls, including Midfielder Anna Pickard (JR, Hellgate) who finished with 4 groundballs and 3 goals in the game, and Midfielder Hannah Karlsson who finished with 6 groundballs and 2 goals. The team’s youngest players, Midfielders Kelsay Adcock (8th, Target Range) and Julia Michels (8th, Target Range) each had solid performances with Adcock displaying great speed in her transition game and Michels netting her first goal. Defender Hannah Leonard (JR, Hellgate) wouldn’t let the Bullpups really ever get settled on offense and Goaltender Sara Hanson had a huge second half, where she registered 7 saves on many point-blank shots. The fired up first half combined with some really solid goaltending in the second half would prove to be enough for the Women from Missoula, who earned their first win ever over the hosting Bullpups by the final score of 11-3.
Missoula Elite Lacrosse would like to thank the Gonzaga Prep Lacrosse program for hosting Saturday’s event and for the girls from Three Rivers and Sandpoint for making the trip to Spokane. Also, a huge thanks to all the parents who made the trip to Washington to support the girls and congratulations to Coach Fahy and Coach Bona for their first win!
Inaugural Weekend
On Saturday, May 2nd, Missoula Elite Lacrosse teams traveled to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to participate in the first games in program history. MEL’s inaugural game featured the Men’s Varsity team taking on host Coeur d’Alene Vikings. The host Vikings got on the board quickly against a road-weary MEL team and lead 5-0 only 7 minutes into the game. Following the first quarter break, the boys from Missoula found their legs and play increased dramatically. Midfielder Trevor Johnson (SO, Sentinel) notched the program’s first goal in the 2nd quarter and the defense, anchored by Goaltender Rian Tuttle (JR, Hellgate), shutout the Vikings for the quarter. The third quarter was very evenly played, with each team playing solid defensively and each scoring once in the quarter. Midfielder Colter Lear (JR, Hellgate) found the net for MEL after a great feed from Attackman Dylan Gross (JR, Hellgate). The 4th quarter started out very physical with teams trading blows in the first 6 minutes. Attackman Dane Kuhn (JR, Hellgate) scored his first goal on an isolation from the wing and the team started working through their offense well to generate shots. Unfortunately Kuhn’s goal would be the lone goal of the quarter for MEL and the host Vikings started finding some holes in the tired MEL defense and ended up winning the contest 13-3. Goaltender Rian Tuttle was awarded the game ball for his 12 save performance.
Following the MEL Men’s Varsity game, the Men’s JV team played it’s first game ever. The boys played hard against the more experienced University High, WA, program and were excited to hit the field for the first time. Goaltender Colten Birdeau (FR, Sentinel) shined early on and had netted 12 saves by the end of the first half. The midfield was paced by Albert Plant III (8th, Arlee) and Logan Kuhn (8th, Washington). who did a great job clearing the ball and working it to the attack. Attackman Hunter Brant (FR, Big Sky) and Tanner Pace (FR, Big Sky) both worked the ball well offensively and found shots early and the boys took away a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge from their first game.
In the Men’s Varsity team’s second game of the day, the boys went to battle against Three Rivers, Washington. The teams looked very even in the opening quarter and MEL went into the second down 2-1, with Attackman Dane Kuhn netting a goal. In the second quarter the Coyotes from the Tri-Cities dominated at the face off X and were able to push a number of transition goals past the MEL defense. At halftime the Varsity boys made some adjustments to their game and were able to evenly pace the Coyotes for the rest of the contest. Led by a pair of 4th quarter goals from Attackman Lance Altmaier (JR, Hellgate), the MEL team won the second half 3-2 and finished with a very respectable 11-5 final score. Attackman Dane Kuhn was awarded the game ball for his 3 goal performance and Goaltender Rian Tuttle finished with 10 saves. Defenseman Joel Colbert (JR, Hellgate) paced the defense all game and finished with 6 groundballs. Midfielder Coty Becker (SO, Sentinel) had a team high 7 groundballs and pushed the ball effectively in transition throughout the game, along with line mate Matt Gosselin (JR, Big Sky).
The MEL Men’s JV team wrapped up the day’s action following the second Varsity game with another solid performance against the host Coeur d’Alene Vikings. Attackman Eli Hampson (FR, Hellgate) netted the team’s first goal ever during the contest and Goaltender Colten Birdeau had another great game in the cage. Missoula Elite Lacrosse would like to thank University High and Three Rivers for meeting us in Coeur d’Alene and a big thanks to the host Vikings for putting on a great day of lacrosse!
Welcome to Varsity Lacrosse
Hello everybody and welcome to the kick-off season for the Missoula Elite Lacrosse Varsity Team. Coach Pyke and I are extremely excited to help get this program off the ground and we’re looking forward to drastically changing the lacrosse landscape in Missoula this spring. You all are going to be a part of this movement, so welcome to the cause. We’re here to answer your questions, guide both parents and players through our program, and hopefully have some fun.
Coach Pyke and I have decided to set the bar high for this team, so it’s not always going to be easy. What we can promise is that you will learn a ton about this amazing game and walk away with an athletic and academic experience that will change your life. So let’s get those pads on and we’ll see you out on the field!
