Hart High boys lacrosse gradually gained momentum Friday and peaked in the second half, taking down Birmingham Community Charter of Lake Balboa, 13-4, at Hart.
“I think if we start off with a lot of energy and a lot of excitement, we can really get the ball rolling and put a lot of balls in the cage,” said Hart senior Paul Kim.
Kim had a hand in the victory himself, winning nearly every faceoff and scoring two goals.
“He’s one of the best players on our team,” said Hart midfielder Jacob Montes. “Faceoffs are really big, and he’s a really big key to winning our games because not only does he do faceoffs and win those, he scores goals and plays good defense.”
Hart (3-5) emerged from the first quarter tied 2-2 with the Patriots (6-5). It amped up its attack in the second quarter, launching shots each time a player neared the crease to boost the lead to 5-2 by the end of the half.
As play wore on, the Indians switched their focus from shots to systems, working into a settled offense and passing more before going for a goal.
“At the beginning, we were trying to come out and most of the time if we score first, we win and that picks up our energy,” said Montes, who also had a two-goal game.
“The second half we’re trying to get through plays and work on a little bit more stuff, and it ended up working and we ended up scoring a lot more.”
As the offense worked to score eight times in the second half, a shutdown defense worked to double-team Birmingham’s most powerful players. Hart allowed two more goals in the second half, including a late short-handed goal in the fourth quarter.
The Indians are hoping to take the momentum into its rivalry game against Valencia on Tuesday.
“It’s Hart and Valencia. It doesn’t matter if it’s a tennis match, a baseball game or lacrosse, football. It’s going to be a hard-fought game,” said Hart coach Tony Uebelhardt.
