Oak Hall Lacrosse Dominates Newberry on Senior Night

Senior night for boys lacrosse at Oak Hall School was a success. 

After introducing the six seniors on the 15th-ranked team in the country during the pregame on Wednesday, the Eagles defeated the Newberry Panthers 17-1, the third consecutive game Oak Hall  has won by at least 14 goals. 

The Eagles (11-1) dominated from the opening faceoff, scoring seven goals on 13 shots in the first quarter. However, sophomore midfielder Brandon Eichel had to exit the game in the first quarter after taking a hit and injuring what appeared to be his ankle. He was seen on the bench with ice on his foot and his ankle.

As the game went on, it was clear that the Eagles were the better team. They finished with a shot advantage of 46-7 against the Panthers (1-8).

“ I thought we did a good job at the face-off dot or X,” Oak Hall coach Jonathan Montes said. “We picked up a lot of ground balls and I thought we were tough on ground balls and they gave us an opportunity to kind of put the ball on the back of the net.”

Even though it was senior night for the Eagles, junior attackman Kevin Bendekovic and junior midfielder Dominic Moreschi were the standouts in this game.

Bendekovic was one of the catalysts for the offense, finishing with four goals and two assists. He dedicated his performance to the seniors.

“ Our program’s built on the past, present and the future,” Bendekovic said. “And we definitely did it for the past and the present today.”

Moreschi set the tone, finishing the game with two goals and three assists, all in the first half.

The Eagles will play next at home against Ponte Vedra (11-2) on April 2.  Montes was asked how Oak Hall will maintain momentum in closing the regular season on the road.

“ Well, first off, start off by playing Ponte Vedra, which is a superstar team, and there’s no better team to prep you than Ponte Vedra for the playoffs,” he said. 

The Ponte Vedra Sharks are ranked third in the nation on Maxpreps and are second in the state of Florida. 

Bendekovic believes his team will  go far in the playoffs.

“ We’re gonna hopefully run through the postseason, run through this next game and just keep the energy flying,” he said. “Just keep the boys going.”

Category: High School Sports, Oak Hall High School