Thursday, May 01, 2008
Special to the HERALD-CITIZEN
BELL BUCKLE -- After an emotional win on Friday that clinched the TSLA Division II East Region Title, the Cookeville High boys lacrosse team suffered a let-down Wednesday night at Bell Buckle, losing their final game of the regular season to The Webb School, 10-8.
After a lengthy delay in starting the game, and an extended warm-up period, the Cavs got off to a slow and sluggish start. For the first time this season, CHS was held scoreless in the first quarter while Webb scored three goals.
The Feet extended the lead to 4-0 early in the second quarter before senior Derek Malone got the Cavs on the board with a goal at the 10:40 mark. Senior attackman Elliot Woods added a goal just 16 seconds later to pull the Cavs to within two points at 4-2.
Two minutes later, Woods scored another unassisted goal to get CHS back in the game at 4-3, but the Bell Buckle team found the net once more with four and half minutes to play to set the half-time score at 5-3.
CHS picked up the intensity in the second half and fought back to tie the score at 5-5 on goals by Malone and Sam Stout. But with just over a minute to play in the quarter, Webb managed another goal to lead 6-5 after three periods of play.
The fourth quarter saw Webb outscore CHS four goals to three to secure the win for the home team. Fourth-quarter goals were scored by Stout (2) and Malone (1), but costly mistakes and poor ball handling gave The Webb School an advantage that the Cavs could not match.
CHS finishes the regular season with a 9-4 record and 4-0 in the TSLA DII east region. The Cavs play again in Nashville on Saturday, May 10 in the semi-finals of the state playoffs. The foe is still undetermined and will be set this weekend.
Saturday, Apr 26, 2008
COOKEVILLE — For the second consecutive year, the Cookeville High boys lacrosse team has claimed the TSLA Division II East Region championship with an undefeated region record, and earned an automatic spot in the semifinals of the state playoffs.
The Cavs secured the championship on Friday night with a win over region foe Webb School of Knoxville, 8-7, in an intense and evenly matched game.
“I knew it was going to be a tight game,” said CHS head coach Kurt Snider. “They (Webb Knox) needed this one too, so they were hungry and came in with intensity and really played us a tough game.”
“I’m really proud of our guys and the effort we had tonight,” Snider added. “I thought we played extremely well very early and then again late in the game.”
The Cavs started strong, controlling possession most of the first eight minutes and jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Nathan Fontenot and Derek Malone. The Spartans got on the board at the 5:34 mark with a man-advantage score by Zack Enderson to pull within one at 2-1.
CHS bounced right back when Malone won the ensuing faceoff, took the ball downfield and passed to Sam Stout, who escaped his defender and beat the Spartan goalie for a score just 12 seconds later.
With CHS leading 3-1 and with two Cav players in the penalty box, Bennett Benson of Webb found the net for a two-man advantage goal to bring the Spartans back to within one at 3-2.
Andrew Dailey tied the game at 3-3 with a goal at the 1:00 mark, but the Cavs were not finished in the period. Fontenot scored his second goal of the quarter with just :21 to play to put Cookeville up by one at 4-3 at the end of one.
The second period proved to be a defensive battle, with Webb Knox shutting out the powerful Cav offense and CHS limiting the Spartans to just a single score to tie the game at 4-4 at the half.
Webb took its only lead of the game at 5-4 in the third quarter, when Enderson scored an unassisted man-advantage goal with 8:27 on the clock. While the Cavs struggled with maintaining possession in the third period, Malone managed a game-tying goal with a little more than 1:00 left in the quarter.
The final period saw the Cavs return to their first-quarter form, as they controlled ground balls and Malone dominated faceoffs, which gave CHS the advantage in time of possession.
The Cavaliers broke the 5-5 tie with a goal by Stout, only to see Webb come back a minute later and score a short-handed goal to tie it at 6-6.
With less than three minutes to play, it looked as if the game might be headed to overtime. But Webb suffered two consecutive penalties to give CHS a two-man advantage, and the Cavs capitalized on the opportunity.
Stout hit Fontenot with a pass at the crease, and Fontenot converted for his third goal of the game to put CHS up 7-6. The Cavs widened the lead to 8-6 on Stout’s second of the game with just 1:50 on the clock.
Webb came back with another score by Benson with 47 seconds to play to set the final score at 8-7 in favor of the Cavaliers.
“It feels so good to win the region,” said senior co-captain Malone. “But it’s bittersweet, since it’s our last home game of our senior year.”
Malone is one of six players honored in senior night pre-game ceremonies. Steven Crook, Chase Day, Tyler Dunn, Malone, Billy Van Wagner and Elliot Woods complete their high school careers this season.
The CHS lacrosse program fielded its first team in 2004, and in five seasons has gone from winless to two consecutive region championships.“I’m proud of how quickly we’ve developed a solid, competitive program,” said Snider. “We won our first game in our second year, then had our first winning season our third year, and now two region championships. We’re proud of that.”
“It feels really awesome knowing that we went from one win our freshman year to back to back region champs,” added Crook.
Woods said, “Sophomore year, I think we realized we could be special, but undefeated in the region two years in a row — no way we expected that. To do that our junior and senior years is very special.”
The Cavs play their final regular season game on Wednesday at Webb School of Bell Buckle, then get ready for the state tournament May 10 and 11 in Nashville.
Saturday, Apr 19, 2008
Special to the HERALD-CITIZEN
KNOXVILLE -- The Cookeville High boys lacrosse team traveled to Knoxville on Friday night for an important matchup with TSLA East Region foe West Knox, and the Cavaliers came away with a 9-5 win over the Warriors to guarantee at least a wild-card spot in the playoffs.
"This was a big win for us," said head coach Kurt Snider. "While I thought we were a little sloppy, we got it done when we needed."
The Cavs got off to a three-goal lead with scores by Sam Stout, Derek Malone and Tyler Reed. But after taking the quick lead, CHS began to struggle offensively, making inaccurate passes and failing to complete catches. The Warriors were able to pull within two at the three-minute mark with their first goal of the evening to set the first period score at 3-1 in favor of the Cavs.
CHS cleaned up play in the first minute of the second quarter, when Elliot Woods passed to Chase Day, who curled around his defender and fired a shot past the Warriors goalie to put the Cavs ahead 4-1. The Cavalier defense held West Knox scoreless in the second period and CHS led 4-1 at the half.
The Cavs went up 5-1 in the third period when Woods scored a short-handed goal with 7:45 to play. The Warriors responded with a goal five minutes later to cut it to 5-2, but Woods scored again with 20 seconds to play when Malone found him near the crease for the dump in shot, and the Cavs led 6-2 after three quarters.
The teams scored three goals each in the fourth quarter with the Cavs' scores coming from freshman Jamie Chapman, and sophomores Dylan Graves and Reed.
"Our 'D' played really well tonight," said Snider. "We're much harder to defend when we have several different players who are legitimate threats to score.
"Jamie had a great game," Snider added. "He had a fourth quarter goal and made good, smart plays on some key possessions."
Cavalier players who recorded assists in the game include Stout (2), Woods (2), Heath Randolph (1) and Malone (1). Goalie Ethan Woods recorded 11 saves.
The Cavs return to action Tuesday when they travel to Chattanooga to take on McCallie.
Monday, Apr 14, 2008
COOKEVILLE -- The Cookeville High boys lacrosse team saw its six-game winning string snapped on Saturday when Father Ryan charged back from an early deficit to overpower the Cavs 9-5.
CHS started the game strong, winning possession of the opening face-off and scoring in the first minute of play, when Sam Stout took a feed from Elliot Woods and slipped it past the Irish goalie. Stout followed that score with an unassisted goal to put CHS up 2-0 at the 8:05 mark of the first period.
The Cavs defense took charge of the remainder of the quarter holding the Irish scoreless on nine attempts.
Derek Malone increased the CHS lead to 3-0 early in the second quarter with a nice behind-the-back shot that found the net. But the three-point lead was short-lived, and the tide turned in favor of the Irish as the Father Ryan scored six unanswered goals to take a 6-3 advantage at the half.
According to coach Kurt Snider, the Cavs let down after capturing the early lead.
"We got sloppy. We got up 3-0 and then just seemed to relax and stop playing smart," said Snider. "Momentum can change really fast in lacrosse and a three-goal lead is not a lot. Hopefully this was a wake-up call for our guys to not take any lead for granted."
Once the Irish captured the lead, they seemed to gain confidence and play even stronger. The second half saw the Irish dominate time of possession and outshoot the Cavs 19 to 9 and outscore CHS 3-2.
Tyler Reed scored the Cavs' only goal in the third period with an assist by Malone, and Malone tallied a man-down score in the fourth period to finish the Cookeville scoring for the day.
"Father Ryan is a very good team," Snider said. "To beat them, we have to play extremely well, and we just didn't today. "We'll see how we react next week when we go to Hillsboro."
The Cavs record falls to 6-2 on the year while the Irish improved their season mark to 5-0.
CHS travels to Hillsboro on Tuesday.
Wednesday, Apr 09, 2008
Special to the HERALD-CITIZEN
COOKEVILLE -- Behind an eight-goal performance by senior Elliot Woods, the Cavalier boys lacrosse team outdueled the Cougars of Centennial High School 16-10 Tuesday to improve their record to 6-1 on the season.
In one of the most competitive games of the year, the Cavaliers played with intensity for the full 48 minutes.
"I was really proud of the effort tonight," said head coach Kurt Snider. "We knew they (Centennial) were a good team and that we couldn't afford to be sluggish. We came out of the gate with good energy and played strong."
The Cougars struck first just 1:55 into the game when Patrick Hudson curled around the Cav defender and fired the first shot into the net. But less than a minute later Woods answered for CHS with his first goal of the night to tie the score at 1-1.
The Cavs took the lead with 7:09 to play in the first quarter when Heath Randolph found an open Geoff Pippin in front of the crease who converted for the score. Woods scored an unassisted goal at the 5:33 mark to give the Cavaliers a two goal cushion at 3-1. But, just 38 seconds later, the Cougars struck back with a fast break score by Andrew Evans, and then tied the game at 3-3 with a goal by Jacob Estrada with 4:20 to go in the period.
Randolph put CHS ahead again when he fired a shot past the Cougar goalie with 2:29 to play. The Cavs efficient team work was evident late in the first period when midfielder Chase Day secured possession of a ground ball and outran defenders to the midfield line before passing to Woods who quickly hit senior Derek Malone in the attack zone. Malone drew Cougar defenders leaving Sam Stout open on the crease for a clear shot. Malone hit Stout with the pass and Stout scored with :25 to play in the quarter, giving the Cavs a 5-3 advantage.
The Cavs extended the lead to 6-3 early in the second frame on Randolph's second goal of the night. But Centennial stayed tough and fought back with two goals by Hudson to pull the Cougars to within one, 6-5 at the half.
Early in the second half, Cougar Kristopher Heinold put in a rebounded shot to tie the score at 6-6 before Estrada gave Centennial a 7-6 lead with a goal at the 9:06 mark. Malone tied it for the Cavs with a man advantage goal assisted by Stout, but Estrada responded for the Cougars with his third goal of the night and the Cavs trailed 8-7 with 5:56 to play in the third quarter. CHS rallied in the last four and a half minutes of the period with four unanswered scores, one by sophomore Dylan Graves, one by Malone, and two by Woods, to give the Cavs a three point advantage 11-8 going into the final period.
The Cougars fought back with two quick goals in the fourth to pull within one at 11-10. But the Cavs' Woods took control of the next three minutes of the game scoring four consecutive goals with assists by Nathan Fontenot and Day, to give CHS a commanding 15-10 lead with 4:50 to play. Randolph finished the Cavalier scoring with his third goal of the night to give CHS their final six point advantage.
CHS will play again at home Saturday morning against Father Ryan in a make-up game.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
CHATTANOOGA -- The Cookeville Cavalier boys lacrosse team once again relied on a strong, seven-goal performance by senior captain Derek Malone to outscore The Baylor School 14-6 in TSLA East Region action Tuesday night in Chattanooga.
Malone got off to a quick start, winning the game opening face-off and taking the ball to the cage on a fast break for the first score just eight seconds into the contest. CHS tallied three more scores in the first period on goals by senior Elliot Woods (2) and junior Sam Stout (1), before Baylor freshman middy Austin Cole scored at the 2:52 mark of the quarter to pull the Raiders to within three at 4-1.
Malone scored his second goal of the game three minutes and 32 seconds into the second frame on an unassisted goal to put the Cavs up 5-1. But Baylor responded with goals by Brian Williams and Josh Wicks to make it 5-3 with 2:17 to go in the half. Once again, Malone won the ensuing face-off and led a fast break into the attack zone, hitting teammate Sean Burke at the crease for a quick goal.
The Raiders scored again in the second quarter on a bounce shot by Cole with just 40 seconds remaining, but the Cavaliers were not finished for the half. Stout put CHS up by three at 7-4 with his second goal of the game with 24 seconds to play in the half.
The Cavs defense strengthened in the second half and held Baylor to only two goals on just 13 attempts, while the Cavs offense tallied seven points on 20 attempts. CHS managed two goals in the third quarter on successful shots by Malone and Stout, while the Raiders' Ryan Kellner scored a man-advantage goal for Baylor to set the third quarter score at 9-5.
CHS and Malone owned the fourth period, outscoring Baylor 5-1. Malone scored three unassisted and one assisted goal in the quarter, while junior Heath Randolph also scored one goal and earned the assist on one of Malone's goals. Baylor's single point was scored by Sam Ector at the 10:42 mark.
Both teams' goalies had good games, with Cookeville's Ethan Woods recording 15 saves, and Baylor goalie Darryl Brown stopping 18 potential Cavalier scores.
The win brings the Cavalier record to 5-1 (2-0 region). CHS returns to action Thursday at 6 p.m. at home against Notre Dame of Chattanooga.
Monday, March 31, 2008
COOKEVILLE -- The CHS boys lacrosse team scored a convincing 12-2 win on Saturday afternoon over an outmanned and overmatched Hume-Fogg team in their first home contest of the season, improving their record to 4-1.
The Cavs enjoyed success early winning the opening face-off and maintaining possession most of the first period. Sophomore middy Tyler Reed opened the scoring for the Cavs, taking a pass from Sam Stout and converting for the initial score just two minutes and 35 seconds into the game.
CHS recorded five more points on goals by Heath Randolph, Derek Malone (2), Nathan Fontenot and Elliot Woods before Hume-Fogg took its first shot. The Cavs scored twice more in the quarter with goals by Geoff Pippin and Malone to lead 8-0 going into the second quarter.
With the large lead and dominant play, coach Kurt Snider pulled most of the starters after the first period and gave younger and less experienced Cavalier players an opportunity to get significant game action.
CHS extended the lead to 10-0 in the second quarter on goals by Pippin and freshman Jamie Chapman before the Hume-Fogg team scored its first goal with 39 seconds to play to set the halftime score at 10-1.
The second half saw comparatively little scoring as play was shortened by the use of a running clock. Malone scored his fourth goal of the game in the third quarter to put the Cavs up 11-1 entering the final frame.
Hume-Fogg scored its second and final goal of the contest with 4:13 to play, but the Cavs' Chapman scored an unassisted goal, his second of the game, with 59 seconds to play to make the final score 12-2.
For the second consecutive game, the majority of the CHS goals were assisted by offensive players finding the open man for an uncontested shot. Senior Chase Day and Stout, a junior, led the Cavs in assists with three each. Malone and Randolph both recorded one assist.
The Cavalier defense held the visitors to just 17 shots in the game while the CHS offense was effective in maintaining ball possession and attempted 37 shots. Junior goalie Ethan Woods recorded six saves and sophomore Dylan Loftis had two saves.
The Cavs return to action Tuesday, when they travel to Chattanooga to take on the Raiders of the Baylor School in a TSLA East District game.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN -- Behind an impressive eight-goal effort by senior midfielder Derek Malone, the CHS boys lacrosse team cruised to a convincing win over a young Signal Mountain club 17-5 on Thursday night.
The Cavaliers got off to a shaky start and fell behind 2-0 early in the first quarter before Malone won a face-off, moved quickly downfield and scored his first of eight goals on the night to pull the Cavs within one at 2-1. But penalties and poor ball-handling continued to hurt the Cavs and allowed Signal Mountain to score twice more on man-advantage goals.
Late in the first quarter, the CHS team seemed to come alive and take control of the game with four goals to lead 5-4 at the end of the period.
"Once we woke up and started playing like we should, I thought the team played really well," said head coach Kurt Snider. "We just got off the bus sluggish and it took us a while to get to game speed."
When the Cavs did reach game speed they were dominant, limiting Signal Mountain to no goals and only two shots in the second quarter while scoring seven goals to take a commanding 12-4 lead into the half. During halftime, game officials adjusted the official score to 11-4 without explanation.
The CHS defense continued to play strong in the third quarter, holding Signal Mountain to no goals on just four attempts.
"Our D poles (defensive players) played really well," said Snider. "Once we figured out what we could do physically, they (Signal Mountain) didn't score another goal on our first line defense."
Offensively, the Cavs scored four more goals in the third period to increase their lead to double digits at 15-4. CHS outscored the Signal Mountain club 2-1 in the final period to take the win 17-5.
"I was pleased that 10 of our goals tonight were assisted goals. That's something we were focused on, and something we've been working on in practice," said Snider. "That shows good team work and improved awareness of our offensive players."
The commanding lead gave CHS the opportunity to play a lot of younger players.
"We got to see our new guys get some good game experience," said assistant coach Matt McConnell. "We were able to play a lot of different people and look at who is up and coming, and that is good for the program."
In addition to Malone's eight goals, other Cavaliers who scored were Elliot Woods (2), Sam Stout (2), Sean Burke (2), Nathan Fontenot (1), Chase Day (1), Geoff Pippin (1) and Tyler Reed (1). Goalie Ethan Woods recorded 10 saves. Assists were recorded by Malone (3), Woods (2), Stout (1), Pippin (1), Reed (1), Heath Randolph (1) and Jamie Chapman (1).
The Cavs look to get their fourth win against Hume Fogg in their first home game of the season Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Upper Cumberland Soccer Complex
HENDERSONVILLE -- It wasn't a pretty win, but the Cookeville Cavalier boys lacrosse club was happy to come away from Pope John Paul II on Tuesday night with its first victory in TSLA action this season, defeating the Knights 12-4.
After a solid week of practice and two good games in Florida, the Cavs had a light practice schedule last week and returned to action this week a little sluggish.
"I thought we were really sloppy tonight," said head coach Kurt Snider. "We really showed the effects of a few days off, but it was a win and we'll take it."
Even with the lackluster performance, CHS got off to an early lead and never trailed in the game, leading 3-2 after the first quarter and 7-4 at the half. In the second half, the Cavs outscored the Knights 5-0 to secure the win.
Senior Derek Malone led the scoring for the Cavs with six goals on the night. Elliot Woods and Chase Day added two goals each and Geoff Pippin and Sean Burke each had one.
"We didn't get many assisted goals tonight, but fortunately we were able to overpower them individually on offense," Snider said. "Derek is so strong out front that he could just blow by them and score."
Cookeville's defense got stronger as the game progressed.
"Defensively, we gave up some easy goals early, but our long poles (defensive players) tightened up and Ethan (goalie Ethan Woods) made some good saves and we shut them down in the second half," Snider said.
"We will need to get better and be more consistent to compete later on in our schedule," Snider said.
The Cavs look to improve their play in their next outing on March 27 at Signal Mountain.
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The Cookeville High boys lacrosse team rebounded from Tuesday's disappointing loss with an impressive 12-9 win over the previously undefeated Clearwater Yellow Jackets on Thursday night to wrap up their week of spring training in Florida.
"I'm really proud of our guys and the way we played tonight," said Coach Kurt Snider. "The kids applied what we've been working on in practice, and their effort tonight was a culmination of a week's work.
Senior co-captain Derek Malone said, "It feels great to get a win in Florida and to head home on a winning note."
Senior attacker Elliot Woods agreed, "This game was great. The way we pulled together as a team really made the difference, and will help get us ready for our season back home."
The Cavs bettered the Yellow Jackets in every statistical category but fell behind in the first half and had to rely on a second half rally to secure victory.
The first quarter played to a 3-3 tie, with Cookeville goals coming from Malone with two and Woods with one. The second quarter saw Woods score twice more, but Clearwater outscored the Cavs with three goals and took a one point lead (6-5) at the half.
The CHS team effort improved in the second half, especially on defense, as the Cavs held Clearwater to just three scores.
Senior defenseman Steven Crook said, "Defensively, we worked really well together. Everybody was seeing the field well, moving well, filling in gaps and doing their jobs."
"I thought we got stronger and played with more poise as the game wore on," Snider said. "I was really pleased with our ability to stay focused and keep up our intensity. We won the battle of wills."
While the Yellow Jackets were limited to three second half goals, the Cavs improved their offensive production with seven scores; four in the third quarter, two each by Malone and Sam Stout; and three in the fourth period coming from Chase Day, Woods, and Malone.
According to Snider, junior attacker Stout had an exceptional night, recording five assists in addition to his two goals. "We've been looking for a guy who can feed (pass to open players) in attack, and tonight Sammy had a break-out game."
Malone also had a banner night, scoring five goals and recording two assists.
"Derek is so consistent," said his teammate and fellow co-captain Woods. "He works hard in practice every day, he's a motivator and a good leader. He shows up with his game every night."
Day and Woods also contributed one assist each. Goalie Ethan Woods anchored the defensive effort recording 13 saves.
"I think we had a successful week," said Snider. "We look forward getting back, continuing to get better and getting started on our season."
The Cavs first TSLA contest is Tuesday, March 18 at Pope John Paul II.
Special to the HERALD-CITIZEN
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla -- The Cookeville High boys lacrosse club opened the 2008 season Tuesday night with a disappointing loss to the St. Pete Dragons, 14-13.
After playing a solid first half and leading much of the game, mental breakdowns by the Cavs in the second half allowed the Dragons to come charging from behind to tie the score late, and secure the game winning goal with less than a minute to play.
"I thought at times we looked really good," said Cavs head coach Kurt Snider. "Technically we played well. Mentally we need to improve."
"This was one of the best first games of the season for our program," Snider continued. "We found a lot of good we can build on."
The first quarter scoring seemed to set a pattern for the game; CHS played strong early, and the Dragons rallied late. St. Pete opened the scoring with a first quarter goal before Cookeville ever gained possession. But the Cavs responded with three tallies before the Dragons netted another with four seconds to play in the period to pull within one at 3-2.
In the second quarter, once again the Cavs pulled ahead to lead by as many as three goals, but the Dragons rallied late in the period to keep the game close at 7-6.
The second half opened with Cookeville widening their lead to four goals at 10-6 before mistakes and Cavalier penalties allowed St. Pete to gain the momentum and score four unanswered goals to tie the score at 10-10 after three quarters.
The final frame saw the pattern continue as CHS pulled ahead and the Dragons came back late, tying the score at 13 with 4:11 to play, and netting the winner with less than one remaining.
"We look at this as our spring training where we can evaluate where we are and work at getting better. You never like to lose, but tonight we saw many positives," Snider said.
Seniors led the scoring for Cavaliers as Derek Malone scored five goals, Elliot Woods had three, Tyler Dunn had two, and Chase Day scored one. Also scoring for Cookeville was junior Sam Stout, who had two goals. Recording assists were Day with three, Malone with two, Stout with one, and Geoff Pippin and Tyler Reed each had one. Junior goalie Ethan Woods recorded 10 saves.
The Cavaliers complete their Florida trip with a game Thursday night against Clearwater.
Herald-Citizen Staff
NASHVILLE -- The Cookeville High Cavaliers have put themselves on the boys lacrosse map in the state of Tennessee. A program still in its infancy, the Cavs marked an incredible season by finishing as the runner-up in the state tournament.
CHS scored an impressive 9-4 win over Brentwood High on Saturday in the TSLA Division II semifinals before falling to defending state champion Franklin High in Sunday's state championship match at Montgomery Bell Academy.
"It's great," said junior Derek Malone. "We are disappointed we couldn't come in first, but we'll have to settle for second. I'm happy for that."
The Cavs entered Saturday's semifinal looking to avenge a regular season loss to the Bruins from Brentwood. Following a two-week lay-off from game action, the Cavs came in well rested and focused, and jumped out to a quick lead that they didn't relinquish.
"We start slow sometimes, but the guys started sharp from the opening bell and played great the whole time," said CHS head coach Kurt Snider. "Defensively, we played great. I was really impressed."
The team's scoring leaders, Matt Snider, Elliot Woods and Derek Malone accounted for all the CHS first-half goals, scoring two each to lead the Bruins 6-3 at halftime.
The Cavs tallied three more second half goals, one each by Heath Randolph, Woods and Malone, while the defense held Brentwood to a single fourth-quarter score to set the final at 9-4 in favor of the Cavaliers.
"We shut them down," said Snider. "I don't know how many good teams we've held to three goals, so that was a testament to our defense."
The team didn't have long to celebrate the semifinal victory. After playing the late game on Saturday night, CHS had to regroup for a 10 a.m. start for Sunday's championship game.
"It was a shame we really couldn't savor last night's win," Snider explained. "We had to go back to the hotel and shove some pizza down and get some sleep. The league is still looking to find a good solution for that."
The first 12 minutes of Sunday's game were scoreless, and it was 25 seconds into the second period before the Rebels' John Ellis Porter got the game's first points. A minute and 10 seconds later, FHS got another goal to go ahead 2-0.
Woods got the Cavs on the board at the 9:59 mark with his first of two second-quarter goals, but the Rebels responded with three more scores to lead 5-2 at the half.
"Playing in the state championship, we were a little over-adrenalized," said Snider. "We weren't very patient. Plus, Franklin is a big, physical team. Sometimes our guy is used to having a little more room to operate."
Franklin secured its second consecutive state championship in the second half with a strong and aggressive defense, holding the Cavs to just two goals on 12 shots and by scoring three goals on 16 offensive attempts. Malone scored both of the CHS second-half goals.
"We had been practicing really hard. Coach had been doing a great job of keeping us in shape. We are just blessed with our coaches," said Malone. "We want to come back and hopefully we can. Since we got here and got the taste, we want it. Hopefully, we'll be back next year."
Cavalier goalie Greg Paul recorded 18 saves in the game, but it wasn't enough to overcome the tough and aggressive Rebels.
"There's something to be said for having been here before," Snider said. "They won the state tournament last year and they know what it takes to be here. It's a learning process for us. It's tough to swallow when you are out here playing."
Even though losing in the state championship game was disappointing, the whole experience of making their first-ever trip to the playoffs and getting to the title match was something the Cavaliers are very proud of.
"You are disappointed because you don't want to lose and it was our second chance at Franklin, but they are obviously a great team. They beat us twice," said Woods. "Getting here was neat. When we got off the bus and we were getting ready to play Brentwood, we had a certain feeling about it. It was a great feeling. You are excited but you are nervous, too.
"Last night after we won, we realized we were in the state championship game," continued Woods. "Then we got up this morning and played. Just getting a chance to play in it and play one last game was great."
Published May 21, 2007 12:02 PM CDT
Special to the Herald-Citizen
COOKEVILLE -- The Cookeville High men's lacrosse team needed a fourth-quarter surge, but the Cavaliers overtook a talented team from the Webb School of Bell Buckle on Wednesday to secure a 13-7 victory on senior night.
The Cavs (8-3) trailed the first three periods to the Division I team, but seemed to gain new energy in the fourth quarter to outscore Webb 7-0 in the period for the come-from-behind win.
"It's funny, in lacrosse all it takes is a couple of good things to happen and it can kind of change the tide," said CHS head coach Kurt Snider. "Still, it was a two-goal game for quite a long time. We just got it going, we started seeing the holes in the defense and the guys started exploiting that.
"We've played games like that before where no matter what we did, we just couldn't get close enough," he continued. "So it was huge for us to be able to tie the game, take the lead and then sort of dominate the fourth quarter. I'm so proud of the guys."
After the pre-game recognition of 11 CHS seniors, the Cavs got off to a slow start, giving up a goal less than two minutes into the game and going nearly four minutes before securing their first possession. CHS managed eight shots in the quarter but came up empty against Webb goalie Harris Abernathy. Webb scored another goal late in the first to lead 2-0 after one period of play.
Webb (8-6) stretched the lead to 4-0 in the second period before junior Derek Malone got the Cavs on the board with an unassisted goal with 3:58 to play in the half.
"I called a timeout and I told the guys, 'You play like you practice,'" Snider said. "We had two really bad practices and it showed. But they showed some intestinal fortitude there."
Malone added another tally with just 45 seconds on the clock to pull the Cavs to within two at the break.
The momentum began to swing Cookeville's way in the third period when senior attackman Kyle Shanks scored 27 seconds into the quarter to pull within one at 4-3. Webb outscored CHS 3-1 over the next nine minutes, and led 7-4 before the Cavs finished the frame on a strong note with goals by Malone and senior Matt Snider to again pull within a single point.
"We just sucked it up," Malone said of the comeback. "We know that in lacrosse, three goals is nothing. You can come back from that within a minute as we did tonight. We just had to keep the mentality up, which our team did great. We stayed focused, we didn't start blaming each other. It was a team effort. It was great."
The fourth period went all Cookeville's way. Elliot Woods scored his second goal of the game at the 9:33 mark to tie the score at 7-7. Then, sophomore attackman Sam Stout beat two defenders from behind the goal and curled in front of the crease to put the go-ahead score in the net at the 8:58 mark.
The Cavs never looked back, using the momentum to score three more quick goals in the next 77 seconds to take a commanding 11-7 lead with 7:41 remaining. CHS senior goalie Greg Paul held Webb scoreless in the fourth period, while the Cavs scored twice more to secure the win.
"It's just a huge victory for us because it builds our confidence going into the playoffs," said Matt Snider. "I think we'll be ready for the semifinal game if we keep playing the way we've been playing."
Snider led the Cavaliers with five points on three goals and two assists in his final home game. Malone scored four points on goals. Stout had three goals, Woods scored two and Shanks scored one. Senior Joe Powell and sophomore Heath Randolph each had one assist.
Eleven Cavaliers saw their final home action in the game. Jonathan Dewar, Nick Fannin, Bekim Haliti, Bob Jacoby, Schyler Johnson, Patrick Martin, Greg Paul, Joe Powell, Josh Riches, Kyle Shanks, and Matt Snider all completed their home seasons with the win.
As region champions, CHS has a bye in the first round of the TSLA state playoffs and an automatic trip to the semifinal game in Nashville on May 19. The Cavaliers' opponent has not yet been determined.
Published May 03, 2007 10:57 AM CDT
Special to the Herald-Citizen
COOKEVILLE -- In six short years, the Cookeville High Cavaliers have built a boys lacrosse program into a state championship contender. The Cavaliers captured their first-ever East Region championship on Wednesday night after pounding region foe Baylor 17-1.
With the victory, CHS clinched one of only three region titles in the state with a perfect 5-0 mark while improving to 7-2 overall.
"It's the first year we have had a senior class," said CHS head coach Kurt Snider. "The kids who are seniors basically started the program six years ago when they were seventh-graders. It was nice to see some of the fruit of their labor for the past six years."
Claiming a region crown over schools such as Knox Webb, Knox West, Baylor, Signal Mountain and Cleveland means the Cavaliers earn an automatic berth into the state semifinals in May. CHS has never advanced to the playoffs before, but is now just two wins away from a state championship.
"It's so cherished to win the region," Snider explained. "It saves you a lot of hassle and gives you a smaller ladder to climb to the state championship. It will be fun to see how they do and how they deal with the pressure of going to the next level."
The Cavs took their game to the next level in pounding Baylor. CHS got the offensive onslaught started when attackman Kyle Shanks scored with 8:54 left in the first quarter. After fellow CHS attackman Matt Snider followed with another goal to put Cookeville up 2-0, Baylor then answered with a goal of its own.
CHS answered when Derek Malone tallied the first of his two goals in the match. Midfielder Heath Randolph then added a shorthanded goal with :49 left in the quarter before Elliot Woods tallied the final goal of the first quarter.
Woods picked up where he left off by scoring the first goal of the second quarter. Shanks recorded his second score two minutes into the period. Snider then found the net for the second and final time with 4:35 left in the first half. Malone followed with his second goal just seven seconds later and Woods concluded the first half scoring with his third goal, putting CHS in control with a 10-1 lead.
The second half was more of the same for CHS as Woods added his final goal just four minutes into the third quarter. A minute later, Sam Stout tallied a goal followed by a Jonathan Dewar score midway through the frame. John Bruce then tallied a goal late in the third period followed by a goal from Chase Day, his first of the season. The final two scores of the contest came in the fourth quarter, when Geoff Pippen found the net with 11:04 remaining before Ben Craven had a goal with 1:07 left.
Senior goalie Greg Paul recorded five saves while backup goalie Ethan Woods had eight saves -- all in the second half.
"It's been nice to see the progression of the players," said Snider. "They have come together as a team and seem to be gelling at the right time. The players are still fresh and playing the best lacrosse they have all season. That's going to help in the state playoffs which is coming up."
The Cavaliers wrap up the 2007 regular season at home on Wednesday, May 2, against Webb Bell Buckle before heading to the state semifinals on May 18.
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KNOXVILLE -- Cookeville High's men's lacrosse team took on the Webb Knox Spartans on Friday night, with the Cavaliers leaving with the 12-6 win.
"I think it is one of the best games we have ever played," said head coach Kurt Snider. "This win puts us in the driver's seat in the region."
Cookeville got off to a slow start in the first quarter. Webb attackman Andrew Daley scored two goals early in the period, giving Webb the 2-0 lead. Cookeville was able to gain possession of the ball for the first time four minutes into the game, and it didn't take long for the Cavs the get on the board.
Attackman Kyle Shanks found midfielder Schyler Johnson cutting to the goal and making the score 2-1. Cookeville tied the game just a minute later, when Shanks received a pass from Joe Powell and put the ball by the Webb goalie Austin Moore. The Cavs then took the lead with a little over three minutes to go in the period when Matt Snider intercepted a pass and raced down field hitting Elliot Woods, who found Derek Malone in front of the goal to make the score to 3-2 at the end of the first.
The second quarter started off with Webb's Bennett Benson tying the game at three with eight minutes left in the quarter. Cookeville took the lead once again when Malone raked the ball into the goal for his second of the game. Malone then scored with just 26 seconds to go in the half, giving CHS a 5-3 lead at the break.
Cookeville found its groove in the third quarter. Woods scored early in the quarter, giving CHS a three-goal lead. Woods then found Malone for the second time of the game for his fourth goal. Shanks then found Woods on the crease for a goal, giving CHS an 8-3 lead. Snider gave CHS a six-goal lead when he came around the goal and dumped it over Moore's head.
Webb midfielder Alexander Schmid brought the deficit for Webb back to four, scoring two goals less than two minutes apart. Woods gave CHS a five-goal lead when he caught a pass from Snider in front of the goal making the score 10-5 at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter went slow scoring-wise. Snider scored the first goal of the period with a little over seven minutes to go. Snider then scored again when Woods found him wide open in for his third goal of the game. Benson scored the final goal of the game with around two minutes to go, but it was too little to late for Webb.
Woods lead the Cavs with three goals and three assists, giving him six points. Snider finished with three goals and one assist, giving him four points, and TSLA player of the week Malone finished with four goals. Shanks finished with one goal and two assists for three points, and Powell and Johnson both finished with one point each. Goalie Greg Paul had four saves. Cookeville returns home next Wednesday to host Baylor at 5 p.m. at the soccer complex.
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COOKEVILLE -- The Cookeville High lacrosse team remained undefeated in region play, outscoring visiting Signal Mountain 18-4 on Tuesday night at the Upper Cumberland Soccer Complex.
The Cavaliers -- who beat Pope John Paul II 16-9 on Monday to complete a previously suspended game -- proved dominant in every aspect, taking more shots, winning more face-offs, gaining control of more ground balls, and totaling more saves than Signal Mountain.
The CHS team tallied the game's first score at the 10:52 mark of the first period when Derek Malone took a pass from Jonathan Dewar and converted for a goal. Just over a minute later, Signal Mountain struck back with a goal to tie the score at 1-1.
The Cavs (5-3, 3-0 TSLA) then ran off six straight goals before Signal Mountain managed its second with 3:26 to go in the first. CHS scored again with just nine seconds in the quarter to take an 8-2 lead at the break.
The second period started with three quick Cavalier goals in the first two minutes. Signal Mountain scored at the 7:52 mark to make the score 11-3. But the Cavs tallied five more scores in the second quarter and held a commanding lead at 16-3 at the half.
Play in the second half was a little sloppier and had much less scoring. CHS scored two goals to Signal Mountain's one in the second half for the final margin.
The entire CHS team got playing time, and ten different players scored goals for the Cavs. Malone and Elliot Woods had four goals each. Chase Day and Tyler Reed had two goals each, while Matt Snider, Josh Riches, Kyle Shanks, Joe Powell, Schyler Johnson, and Dylan Graves each had one goal in the game. Snider also had seven assists, and Powell, Dewar and Malone had two assists each. Goalies Greg Paul and Ethan Woods had three saves each.
The next Cavalier lacrosse game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Webb Knoxville.
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COOKEVILLE -- The Cookeville High School men's lacrosse team took on the West Knox Warriors in what turned out to be a thriller with Cookeville winning 11-10 on Friday at CHS.
"This was a great game," said CHS head coach Kurt Snider. "It was nice to know that once we got down we could fight back. I was really proud of our team."
Cookeville wasted no time getting the scoring started. Midfielder Derek Malone got the first two tallies of the game, scoring both goals just nine seconds apart less than three minutes into the contest.
West Knox then scored less than a minute later to cut Cookeville's early lead down to one. Attackman Elliot Woods gave the Cavs a two-goal lead again scoring midway through the period. Kyle Shanks put the Cavs ahead by three in the first with a goal, giving CHS a 4-1 lead at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter was a much different story for the Cavaliers. West Knox scored on a two-man-up possession less than a minute into the quarter. The Warriors then scored another goal less than halfway through the quarter. Malone was able to maintain a two-goal lead scoring with five minutes left in the period, giving CHS a 5-3 lead at the break.
The excitement started to build in the third quarter. West Knox got on the board first by scoring less than a minute into the period. Malone once again gave CHS a two-goal lead by finding the net two minutes later. West Knox was able to score two more before Malone tallied another score for Cookeville.
However, the lead was short lived for home team when West Knox scored less than a minute later to tie the game at seven heading into the final period of play.
West Knox started off the fourth quarter with a bang, taking the lead early in the period. Woods tied the game up for CHS soon after and Malone gave CHS the lead less than two minutes later. West Knox cam back and evened the contest midway through the fourth. Woods gave CHS the lead once again just seconds later and Malone brought the advantage back to two late in the fourth with his seventh goal of the game.
West Knox scored with fourteen seconds to go, cutting the lead to one but it was too little too late as Cookeville escaped with the 11-10 win.
Malone led the scoring for Cookeville, tallying seven goals and one assist with eight points. Woods finished with three goals and one assist giving him four points. Shanks finished with one goal and fellow attackmen Matt Snider finished with two assists. Jonathon Dewar and Bekim Haliti also finished with one assist each. Goalie Greg Paul recorded 12 saves.
Cookeville returns home next Tuesday against Signal Mountain at 6 p.m.
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FRANKLIN -- The Cookeville High School men's lacrosse team traveled to Franklin on Saturday to face the Centennial High Cougars, and the Cavaliers left no doubt about which was the better team, winning 16-5.
"We played great transition lacrosse," said head coach Kurt Snider. "We played solid defense and were able to turn that defense into several fast-break goals."
Cookeville got off to a fast start when Matt Snider hit Elliot Woods on the crease just two minutes into the game. Midfielder Derek Malone scored two in a row to give Cookeville a 3-0 lead.
Woods and Malone kept the scoring streak going in the first quarter, building up a 6-0 lead before Centennial finally put one in the goal.
Woods then added another goal before the first period ended, giving Cookeville a 7-1 advantage going into the second.
Cookeville picked up right where it left off in the second quarter. Woods and Malone got the scoring going again, tallying the first two goals of the period. Snider then put one by Centennial's goalie when Chase Day hit him with a pass as he was cutting toward the goal. Jonathon Dewar added a late goal, sending Cookeville into the half with a 12-1 lead.
With a solid lead, the Cavs were able to play their young players for the remainder of the game. The scoring was limited in the second half.
Freshman Nathan Fontenot scored the second goal of his high school career. Geoff Pippen and Josh Riches also added goals before the third quarter ended.
Centennial added two goals to begin the final period before Sam Stout found Heath Randolph for Cookeville's final goal of the game. The Cougars added two more goals before the game came to an end.
"Centennial has a great program, and it's really good to see us step up to that level," coach Snider said.
Woods lead all scorers with six goals and two assists, giving him eight points. Snider also had a big day with one goal and six assists.
Malone finished with four goals, while Day and Fontenot had two points. Dewar, Stout, Randolph, and Pippen also finished with one point.
Goalie Greg Paul had six saves and Ethan Woods had five. Cookeville returns to action tonight against McCallie at 5 p.m. at the soccer complex.
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COOKEVILLE -- The Cookeville High School lacrosse team looked strong in its home opener, taking a 17-2 win over Tennessee Scholastic Lacrosse Association regional foe Cleveland High School. The Cavaliers will look to continue that momentum tonight when Pope John Paul II visits Cookeville.
"It was a good start for us," coach Kurt Snider said of Saturday's win. "I thought the kids played well. We got everybody some playing time and we were able to really work on our offensive sets."
The Cavs dominated ball possession, winning all but one first half face-offs and gaining control of most loose ball situations. By controlling possession, CHS limited the Cleveland scoring opportunities, holding the Blue Raiders to just five shots and no goals in the first half, and two goals on eleven attempts in the second half.
The Cavaliers put fourteen points on the board in the first half with scoring provided by nine different players. Senior attacker Matt Snider led the Cavs scoring with three goals and three assists. Junior Elliot Woods had four first-half goals, while seniors Kyle Shanks, Josh Riches, Jonathan Dewar and Schyler Johnson, juniors, Derek Malone and Chase Day, and sophomore Heath Randolph added one first-half goal each.
Jonathan Bruce, Nathan Fontenot, and Sam Stout completed the scoring for the Cavaliers, each with single tallies in the second half.
Snider said the Cavs executed well.
"It was really good to see the things we've focused on in practice work in a game situation," he said. "I think our lacrosse IQ has really improved and we're playing much smarter. We've just got to continue to get better because our schedule gets progressively tougher."
The Knights from Pope John Paul II visit the Cavaliers for a 6 p.m. game.
"PJPII will be a step up for us," said Snider. "They are a very physical team and always come ready to play. We will need to stay focused and execute well to meet the challenge."
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COOKEVILLE -- With a balanced offensive attack and solid defensive play, the Cookeville High School lacrosse club kept their state playoff hopes alive Wednesday night with a 9-3 win over visiting Pope John Paul II.
"We won a league game that we had to win, and we won it convincingly," said Cookeville head coach Kurt Snider.
The win evened the Cavs record at 4-4 overall and 1-1 in district play, and makes the upcoming game at West Knox this Saturday another must-win for CHS.
The Cavaliers controlled possession of the ball for most of the first quarter and scored the first goal of the game when Elliot Woods hit Matt Snider on the crease midway through the period to give Cookeville a 1-0 lead. That was the only goal the Cavs managed in ten attempts in the first quarter while they held the Knights to five shots and no goals.
Cookeville started the second quarter fast when Derek Malone put one by the Knightís goalie less than a minute into the period. Snider followed less than a minute later with his second goal of the game giving CHS a 3-0 lead, a score that would stand at the half.
The Cavaliers came out of the halftime break giving up a quick goal twenty-eight seconds into the third, but got it back when Malone scored his second of the game with 10:55 remaining in the quarter. Snider then hit Woods midway through the period for a score that gave the Cavs a 5-1 lead.
The Cavs stretched the lead to five when Malone hit a cutting Joe Powell for Powell's only score of the game. Kyle Shanks added one more for Cookeville in the third, giving the Cavs a 7-1 lead heading into the fourth.
The Knights started the final period with two goals, cutting the CHS lead to four at 7-3. But the Cavs answered as Shanks and Woods added the last two tallies of the game giving Cookeville the win 9-3.
Snider led the scoring for the Cavs with two goals and two assists. Woods and Malone had two goals and an assist each while Shanks added two scores and Powell had one. Goalie Greg Paul had eight saves and Ethan Woods had two.
Cookeville returns to action on Saturday against West Knox at noon.
Published April 20, 2006 11:33 AM CDT
Special to the Herald-Citizen
COOKEVILLE -- Time of possession was the big difference in the Cookeville High lacrosse game Thursday night. The visitors from Knoxville Webb dominated possession of the ball and came away with a 12-5 win over the Cavs.
"This was a disappointing loss," said Cookeville coach Kurt Snider. "I think we got caught up in the playoff implications this game had, and we just didn't play up to our potential."
"We've got to learn from this experience and move on. Pope John Paul II is next, and we've got to be ready to play."
The opening quarter looked promising for CHS as the Cavaliers played solid defense and took more shots on goal than the Spartans. But Knoxville Webb converted on one of three shots while the Cavs were held to no goals on eleven attempts and trailed 1-0 after the first period.
Cookeville got a quick goal to open the second quarter when Derrick Malone took the opening possession to the goal and scored just nine seconds into the period to tie the game at 1-1.
But Webb won the subsequent face-off and maintained possession for two minutes before Zac Enderson scored his first of four goals on the night to put the Spartans up 2-1.
Twenty-eight seconds later, the Cavs' Matt Snider attacked the Webb defense and fed Kyle Shanks who scored to tie the score at two.
The remainder of the half belonged to the Spartans. Webb held possession in their attack zone, gained control of nearly all loose balls, and kept the Cav defense on its heels.
The Spartans tallied three more goals in the period to take a 5-2 lead into the halftime break.
The third quarter proved to be the weakest for CHS as they managed only one shot attempt while Webb scored five times on thirteen attempts. When the Cavs gained possession they had difficulty clearing the ball from their defensive zone, limiting the CHS attackmen to few scoring opportunities and allowing the Spartans to build their lead to 10-2.
The Spartans struck first in the fourth quarter to go ahead 11-2 before the Cavs' Snider moved the ball across midfield and into the attack zone where he found an open Elliot Woods for the third Cavs goal with 4:17 to play in the game.
With 1:03 to play, Enderson scored his final goal of the game for Webb to stretch the lead once again to nine. But Snider managed to lead the Cavs to two more scores in the last minute, first by winning possession on a face-off and leading a fast break, hitting Woods with a pass at the crease for a score.
Twenty seconds later, Snider took it himself firing a shot past the Webb goalie for the Cavs fifth and final goal of the game.
The Cavs were led by Snider who scored one goal and had three assists. Woods had two goals while Shanks and Malone scored one each.
The Spartans had two players score four goals each; Enderson and Trip Conrad. Alexander Schmid scored two goals for Webb while Bennett Benson and Alexander Waters scored one each.
The Cavaliers next play host to the Knights of Pope John Paul II on Wednesday, April 19, at 6 p.m., followed by a trip to Knoxville West on Saturday, April 22.
Published April 14, 2006 12:08 PM CDT
Special to the Herald-Citizen
FRANKLIN -- The Cookeville High School lacrosse team took on the Franklin High Rebels for the second time this season looking to even the series at 1-1. They did just that beating the Rebels 9-8 in overtime.
The Rebels controlled the ball for the most part of the first quarter, but it was the Cavs who struck first when attackman Kyle Shanks put one by the Franklin goalie with 6:08 to play to give Cookeville a 1-0 lead. Franklin struck back less than a minute later to tie it at one, a score that would hold through the end of the first.
Neither team managed much offense in the second quarter until Franklin scored with 2:58 to go in the half. Cookeville would even it up just 36 seconds later when Shanks' shot bounced off a Rebel defender and into the goal.
The third quarter got of to a fast start for CHS when midfielder Heath Randolph bounced one over the Rebel goalie to give the Cavs a 3-2 lead. Franklin, however, went on a 3-0 run to take the lead. Cookeville responded with two goals to end the third quarter tied at 5.
Cookeville opened the final quarter with a goal just 36 seconds into the period. Franklin struck back again, scoring two in a row to take the lead. Cookeville tied it with 10:53 left in the final period, then took the lead scoring again with 9:21 remaining. The Rebels answered again with a goal with 6:44 left. Neither team could score for the remainder of regulation.
The sudden-death overtime period was a quick one. Just two minutes into overtime, Shanks scored the game-winner with a shot over the shoulder of the Franklin goalie to secure the victory.
Cookeville was led by Shanks and Derek Malone with three goals each. Elliot Woods added two goals and Randolph had one. Goalie Greg Paul had seventeen saves for Cookeville.
The Cavaliers return to action Thursday against Knoxville Webb at 6 p.m. at the Upper Cumberland Soccer Complex.
Published April 11, 2006 12:09 PM CDT
Special to the Herald-Citizen
COOKEVILLE -- The Cookeville High lacrosse team came to play hard and finish strong against the Centennial Cougars on Thursday night under the lights at the Upper Cumberland Soccer Complex. And while the Cavs played one of their best games of the season, winning 9-7, it was the lights, or lack thereof, that was the big story of the night.
Midway through the second period with the score tied at four, one set of lights went out, leaving a corner of the field dark and the ball difficult to see. Coaches and officials met and decided to continue play, but to declare the contest a scrimmage and reschedule the official game at a later date.
"I was really proud of how we played," said Cavs head coach Kurt Snider. "As a young program, we're trying to get to that next level, and tonight we showed we could play with those top teams."
Centennial team opened the game with attackman Hunter Stewart scoring a goal just 3:41 into the contest, followed quickly by a Jack Cleary goal 29 seconds later to put the Cougars up 2-0.
But Cookeville struck back with a goal of its own. Junior Matt Snider put the ball past Cougar goalie Ryan McConnell with 3:05 to play in the quarter.
After the Cougars went up 3-1 on a Patrick Hudson goal, the Cavs executed a picture-perfect fast break that resulted in another score. The play began with Cookeville goalie Greg Paul stopping a Cougar shot and moving the ball downfield. Paul then passed to a crossing Snider, who outran the Centennial midfielders to the attack zone and hit a wide open Elliot Woods in front of the crease. Woods converted for the score with just :03 remaining in the period.
The second quarter started with a quick goal by Cougar midfielder Adam Dedoruk, but the remainder of the half belonged to the Cavaliers. Woods tallied his second goal of the game, and soon after junior attackman Kyle Shanks put one on the board for the Cavs to tie the score at four before the lights went out.
Play continued with Cookeville maintaining momentum and scoring twice more before halftime. Snider put it by the Cougar goalie once again with 3:36 to play, followed by the first of two goals for midfielder Derek Malone to give the Cavs a 6-4 halftime lead.
The second half began with an outstanding play by Malone, as he won the opening face-off and took the ball down the field for a quick, unassisted score. But the Cougars answered just 30 seconds later with a bounce shot into the net by Hudson to stay within two points at 7-5.
Cookeville scored once more in the third when freshman midfielder Heath Randolph added a goal with 7:55 to play to put the Cavs up 8-5.
In the final period, the Cougars got two goals from Cleary while Cookeville added one score by midfielder Josh Riches -- his first goal of the season -- for the final margin.
Six different Cavaliers scored goals, but it was the play of the Cookeville defense that made the difference, according to Snider.
"Centennial has a great attack," said Snider. "I thought we did a good job shutting them down."
He also praised the play of defense specialists Steven Crook and Nathan Xander.
"Crook used his stick well and stayed in good position, and Nathan also had some great plays defensively."
Paul had six saves in the first half, and backup goalie Ethan Woods recorded seven saves in the second half.
The Cavaliers continue their season at Franklin High on Monday at 6 p.m.
Published April 08, 2006 6:56 PM CDT
Special to the Herald-Citizen
HENDERSONVILLE -- The Cookeville High School lacrosse team got back to their winning ways on Wednesday, defeating Hendersonville High School 14-3, led by a seven goal performance from sophomore midfielder Derek Malone.
Cookeville got off to a fast start when Malone netted one with 6:30 to go in the first period. CHS struck again just 1:04 later when attackman Kyle Shanks put one by Hendersonville's goalie.
Hendersonville pulled to within one before the first period ended but that would be all they could manage for the half. Malone led the charge in the second quarter, scoring the first two goals of the period. Freshman midfielder Heath Randolph brought the total to five goals when he put a bounce shot in with 3:15 to go in the half. Malone added one more late period goal, leading the Cavs into the break with a 6-1 lead.
The Cavs continued their scoring spree into the second half when attackman Matt Snider snuck one by the Hendersonville goalie less than a minute into the half. Malone added one more to his total just a 1:17 later.
Snider added his second tally of the game with 8:36 left to go in the third. Attackman Elliot Woods put his first in the net with 6:10 left in the period.
Shanks and Malone added two more goals while Hendersonville put two points on the board bringing the score to 13-3 going into the fourth.
Woods added the final tally of the game with less than two minutes to go when he ripped a shot into the upper left hand corner.
Malone led the way for the Cavs with seven goals followed by Snider, who had two goals and six assists. Woods had two goals and one assist while Shanks put two in while Randolph had one goal.
Greg Paul had ten saves and Ethan Woods had one. Cookeville returns to action tonight against Centennial High School at 6:30 p.m. at the Upper Cumberland Soccer Complex.
Published April 06, 2006 12:00 PM CDT
COOKEVILLE -- After picking up momentum for a strong start Saturday afternoon, the McCallie Blue Tornadoes came back and controlled the second half of the contest, besting the Cookeville Cavalier lacrosse club 10-6.
The Cavs got off to a good start outscoring the visitors from Chattanooga 3-0 in the opening quarter. Sophomore Elliot Woods scored all three of the goals for Cookeville with assists from fellow attackmen Matt Snider and Joe Powell.
The momentum began to change in the second quarter as McCallie took the opening face-off and maintained possession for most of the period. But the Cavs defense, led by goalie Greg Paul and supported by defensmen Bekim Haliti, Nathan Xander and Steven Crook, played well and held the Blue Tornadoes to three goals while Cookeville scored twice.
When the Cavs did get control of the ball, they made the most of the opportunity, scoring on both of their attempts in the quarter. Just ten seconds into their first possession of the period, Snider fed the ball to Powell who fired it into the net for a score. Less than three minutes later, it was Snider who scored the Cavs' fifth goal of the contest for a 5-3 Cookeville advantage that would stand until the half.
The game became more physical and intense in the second half, and the Cavaliers began to make mistakes that allowed the Blue Tornadoes to take control.
The Cavs won the opening face-off of the half, but quickly lost possession and gave up two goals in the first two minutes to knot the score at five. McCallie scored twice more before Woods put in a rebounded shot and pulled Cookeville to within one at 7-6.
However, the Cavs failed to take another shot in the third period while McCallie got two more points to take a 9-6 lead into the final period.
CHS could not turn the momentum in the fourth quarter, managing only two missed shots while McCallie held onto the ball and scored once more to set the final at 10-6.
"We played a great half," said coach Kurt Snider after the loss, "but physical and mental mistakes hurt us in the second half."
The Cavs were very efficient on offense, scoring six goals on only eleven shots.
"We didn't waste any shots," said coach Snider. "We played well on offense and may have been a little too efficient because it made our defense work harder and tire more quickly," Snider said.
The Cavs were led in scoring by Woods with four goals. Powell had a goal and an assist, and Snider had one goal and three assists. Goalkeeper Greg Paul had nine saves in three quarters, and backup goalie Ethan Woods made three stops in the fourth period.
CHS (1-5) will seek their second win of the season Wednesday at Hendersonville High School, and will return home for a game against Centennial at 5 p.m.on Thursday.
Published April 04, 2006 11:45 AM CDT
Special to the Herald-Citizen
HENDERSONVILLE -- Led by junior midfielder Joe Powell's six goals, the Cookeville High School Lacrosse team earned their first win of the season Tuesday afternoon in Hendersonville, defeating the Knight's of Pope John Paul II 16-4.
The Cavs got off to a quick start as Powell scored his first goal a little over three minutes into the game. Cookeville quickly struck again when attackman Matt Snider fired a shot by the Knights goalie to put the Cavs up 2-0.
But the Knights came back, scoring two unanswered goals to tie the match 2-2. Cookeville answered when attackman Kyle Shanks weaved through the Knight's defense and scored with 4:03 to play in the first quarter. Sophomore midfielder Derek Malone added another tally for Cookeville in the opening period, scoring with just 1:00 remaining to put the Cavs up 4-2.
Cookeville continued their scoring run when Shanks scored again less than two minutes into the second period. Attackman Elliot Woods added two more for the Cavs while the Knights managed one score before the end of the half as Cookeville went into the break with a 7-3 lead.
Everything went Cookeville's way in the second half with the Cavs outscoring the Knights 9-1. Goalie Greg Paul had 12 saves and freshman goalie Ethan Woods had three.
The Cavs are back in action Saturday at home against McCallie at 1 p.m. and at 7 p.m. against Cordova.
Published March 29, 2006 12:34 PM CST
Special to the Herald-Citizen
COOKEVILLE -- On Wednesday night the Cookeville High lacrosse team hosted the Rebels of Franklin High School but wound up on the short end of a 6-2 score.
The game got off to a good start for the Cavs when junior Matt Snider scored with 6:18 left in the first quarter. The Cavs only enjoyed the lead only briefly, though, as Rebel midfielder Taylor Malone put one on the board for Franklin less than three minutes later.
The Rebels quickly struck again when attackman Andrew Slemp scored with 2:22 left in the opening period. The Cavaliers dominated possession in the opening frame and out-shot the Rebels six shots to three, but trailed 2-1.
CHS kept the pressure on in the second quarter but was unable to capitalize on six shots and trailed 2-1 at the half.
The Rebels came out strong in the second half when Malone scored again just 1:04 into the third quarter. The Cavs trimmed the lead to one after sophomore attackman Elliot Woods put one by the Franklin goalie with 8:23 remaining in the third quarter.
The Rebels, however, responded once again, scoring with just thirteen seconds to go in the third quarter to put Franklin up 4-2. The fourth quarter was no different. The Rebels controlled the ball for most of the half, putting forty-three shots on goal in the second half alone to the Cavaliers' four.
The Rebels scored two more times late in the fourth quarter, capping the victory with an Andrew Slemp goal with seventeen seconds left in the game.
"We played hard we just couldn't convert on offense when we had the ball," said CHS head coach Kurt Snider. "We came out in the second half and got a little impatient and started to play sloppy."
Leading the way for Franklin were Malone and Slemp with two goals each, while the Cavs were led by Snider with one goal and one assist and Woods with one goal.
The Rebels had forty-nine shots in the game, while the Cavaliers could only muster sixteen. Cookeville goalie Greg Paul had ten saves to Franklin's six.
The Cavaliers return to action on Tuesday against Pope John Paul II in Hendersonville at 4 p.m. They return home to host Ensworth on March 30 at 6 p.m.
Published March 23, 2006 4:06 PM CST