By: Brayden Peters
WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. - The Akron boys lacrosse team was on fire, beating Williamsville North on the road 18-3. Trace Hill and Braley Abrams led the way. Hill picked up six goals in the victory while Abrams scored five times.
"It felt pretty good after a good win against a good team," Hill said. "I just felt like we played pretty good offensively and defensively."
The first quarter was not extremely action packed. The Tigers did get off to a quick start by striking first. With just over a minute into the game. Hill buried a right handed sidearm shot.
After the opening goal, Akron's offense found success. They were finding ways to get open right in front of the crease.
The Spartans were able to respond. Bryan Jastrzab buried the ball in the bottom right corner to tie the game up.
Williamsville North ran into trouble clearing the ball in transition. They struggled to get the ball over the midfield line without turning it over. With 7:49 left in the quarter, they only succeeded in clearing the ball once.
Akron ran into issues as well. Turnovers and bad passing halted the Tigers' offensive progress. They were able to score one last goal in the quarter, thanks to Abrams scoring right in front of the crease.
Things started to heat up for Akron's offense in the second quarter, as they went buried four unanswered goals. As for the Spartans, their clearing struggles continued as the Tigers dominated in time of possession.
The Spartans were able to cut into the deficit. Jordan Zeplowitz buried a bounce shot past goalie Payton Palizay. This was seconds before Zeplowitz was swarmed by defenders and took a check to the head. He didn't see the field for almost the rest of the game.
The Tigers were penalized twice for the illegal check to Zeplowitz's head. So, the Spartans got to be on a six-on-four man up. They took advantage of it by Ryan Pitirri scoring on a low-to-low shot from the top of the key. With the goal, Williamsville North cut Akron's lead in half before the end of the quarter.
The Spartans were hoping to pull off a come back in the second half. They were able to do something like this against West Seneca West on Thursday, after being down by six goals. However, Williamsville North couldn't get much going.
Their defense struggled consistently to prevent the Tigers from finding open areas near the crease. Due to this, Akron scored a total of 12 unanswered goals. Both Hill and Abrams scored four goals in the half.
They weren't the only ones to have multi-goal games for Akron, as Nicholas Fry and Brodie Hill both scored twice in the win. Fry and Hill's goals all came in the second half.
Akron head coach Gary Sundown, father of New York Riptide forward Larson Sundown, liked the work his team did in the offseason. This including Abrams and Trace Hill, found ways to train even during the winter months.
"In the offseason, we make sure everybody's playing hopefully box lacrosse," Sundown said. "That helps us transition things to the field."
With the win, Akron continues their undefeated season at 4-0 while Williamsville North drops to .500 at 2-2. The Tigers will prepare to take on East Aurora next. Abrams feels confident about where the team is, but knows they have some things to clean up on.
"Our clears could be a little bit better," Abrams said. "Our goalie was doing the best he could, but our poles could get a little more open and our middies have to slide up a little bit more to get the ball."
This game will have some meaning behind it for Akron, as they fell to East Aurora in the Section VI Class D Championship last season 15-2.
Akron will be on the road for their contest against East Aurora. The game is scheduled to start next Tuesday at 7 p.m.