BY GRACE DUSEBURY, CARSON FLEMING and KIMANI PALMER
It was a rainy and cold Friday night on April 17, yet fans and parents still came out to watch their lacrosse teams tame the Lions of Martin Luther King Jr. High in Lithonia.
The girls team came within seconds of a shutout in a 12-1 victory. Junior captains Grace Dines and Kelly Scollard proved their mettle in leading the team to victory. Dines quickly scored the first two goals, setting the tone for the rest of the game, and Scollard was the team’s top scorer with three goals. Senior Captain Lindsay Van Beck suffered a thigh injury during the first half and sat out the rest of the game. The injury was minor and Van Beck was available to play on Monday against Columbus. Other goals were scored by juniors Mary Lerner and Kate Weatherby, as well as underclassmen Frances Christopher, Amariah Land and Viola Fruth.
In the nightcap, the men’s team also caged the visiting Lions, 14-2. After a sluggish start for both teams, perhaps induced by a steady rain, both teams scored in the first quarter. It was the only goal the visitors would tally until the fourth quarter. Once the home team got rolling, however, it never looked back. The Knights scored three consecutive points in the second. They may have scored more if not for MLK’s excellent goalie, who thwarted many promising shots on goal. In the second half, the Knights seized control of the game. Shots from Timmy Kopp, Zach Peters and Will Taber all found the net in the third quarter. Peters had an especially sweet shot right to close the third-quarter scoring.
The fourth quarter featured scoring and some of the big hits that make lacrosse such a fun sport to play. Rookie Dennis Goldman scored his first point of the season, and John Lansing almost took it coast to coast near the end of the game. The game was an excellent answer to the team’s disappointing 10-5 loss to Whitewater the Wednesday before.
