Seniors Shine, Defense Dominates for Oak Hall Lacrosse as they Defeat Nease 15-2

The Oak Hall boy’s lacrosse team defeated the Nease Panthers 15-2 behind dominating performances from their seniors and scorers.

The leading scorers include Oak Hall’s Kyle Cox with six goals and two assists; Ryan O’Leary with three goals and three assists, and Bradley Vincent with four goals. For Nease, their goals were scored by Jacob Gmeiner and Zach Hunt respectively.

Senior night here for @OakHallLacrosse as they take on Nease. Beautiful evening for lacrosse! @ESPNGainesville. pic.twitter.com/Zw4z0e6j9Y

— Steven Walker (@steven_w7) March 29, 2019

Seniors honored for the Eagles included Brad Vincent, Ryan O’Leary, Grant Pita, Jack Limon, Alex Anderson and Kyle Cox.

Kyle Cox will graduate Oak Hall as their leader in total points scored (goals and assists combined), while Ryan O’Leary will graduate second on that list. It’s safe to say that Oak Hall is losing considerable talent after the 2019 season.

This year’s seniors follow in a long line of Oak Hall players that have gone on to play in college. In 2018, the Eagles graduated six players that went on to play lacrosse at the next level. Of the seniors, Kyle Cox will play next year at Mercer University, Jack Limon will play at Hampden Sydney College, Bradley Vincent will play at Rollins College and Ryan O’Leary will play for the University of North Carolina.

Consistent dominance

The Eagles came out with a purpose putting up five goals early, all of which were scored by senior players. Kyle Cox and Ryan O’Leary both scored two goals in the first quarter, while Bradley Vincent had one.

@OakHallLacrosse leads @NeaseLax 7-2 at halftime. The Panthers continue to struggle to contain the Eagles on offense. @ESPNGainesville. pic.twitter.com/aFBFkDDczX

— Steven Walker (@steven_w7) March 29, 2019

Consistently this season the Eagles have played tight defense and executed offensively. This game was no different, as of the two goals scored none were assisted.

The Oak Hall passing game played a role on more than just the offensive side. On defensive clears, goalie Shayne Ryan and defender Jack Limon made excellent passes to give the offense possessions.

The Eagles created multiple turnovers, mainly from the Limon brothers, but also from excellent mid-fielder on-stick defense at the top of Nease’s possessions. Oak Hall interrupted many clear attempts from the Panthers, consistently snagging the ball back to create opportunities for their offense.

Errors add up

For Nease, the little things did not click over the whole course of the game. Small mistakes added up to inconsistencies on offense.

The Panthers consistently relied on isolation movement and dodge moves to create open shots, which proved ineffective. An inability to create open shots and lack of movement caused the offense to stagnate in the second half. Of their two goals, none were assisted.

Penalties played a part near the end of the game for both teams. At that point, the game was so far out of reach for the Panthers that it did not play a pivotal role in deciding the outcome.

Superb seniors

Seniors played a pivotal role across the board for the Eagles throughout this game. Coach Jonathan Montes commented on the leadership roles his seniors play for his team.

“Their job is to lead men, and that’s what they do,” said Coach Montes, “Their leadership role is defined from the beginning of our program, their leadership has been put in place by guys that have been in our program five years ago.”

It was the role of seniors Kyle Cox, Ryan O’Leary, and Bradley Vincent that helped put the game away on offense for Oak Hall. Defensively, senior Jack Limon created opportunities in the transition game for the Eagles to score.

Looking ahead

Oak Hall is set to face off against East Ridge in Orlando on April 1.

Nease looks to bounce back against St. Augustine on April 2.