The Eagles Boys Laxers visited the C.A.T. house last night and were overpowered by Cougars. During a beautiful spring evening after some much-needed rain, the youthful Eagles went to take on the No. 1 team in Tier 2 and lost 20 to 7. Brandon Konynenbelt faced 52 shots in a net that had to feel like standing in a shooting gallery. There some stupendous saves, and while 20 got by him he still is one of the best goalies in West Michigan in this humble writer's opinion. Ronin Russell-Dixon continued to dominate at the faceoff spot as Catholic Central sent multiple players out to try and beat Mighty Mouse. While Ronin beat his various assailants like a drum, the Eagles struggled to maintain the possession he earned for them. Goals on the night saw Brock Grieve getting 1, Jack Coyle with a Hat Trick, and Jake Eaton dropping 4 in the Cat's litter box. Assists saw Brock Grieve and Hayden Zimmerman each getting 1.

The combined team of Zeeland East and West High Schools invaded the Eagle's Nest last night and the Poultry won out over the Birds of Prey. While Ronin Russell-Dixon was absolutely phenomenal at faceoff winning cleanly all but 1 of over 30 draws, and the Eagles gained possession, the turnover bug bit hard and the Eagles struggled to keep the rock. There were glimmers of greatness for this very young team that has anywhere from 5 to 8 freshmen or sophomores on the field at any one time, but alas not enough to overcome the fowl from the west. Jack Coyle and Ronin Russell-Dixon each chipped in 1 goal, while Jake Eaton banged home 2, and Hayden Zimmerman made the Chix/Dux feathers fly by finding the back of their ne(s)t 5 times. Hayden, Jake, and Brock grieve each had 1 assist on the night, and Jack Coyle was the main feeder with 3 assists.

Game 1 - GRC 8 - Northview 1 - In the first tilt of a long day of lacrosse the Eagle Boys came out with guns blazing against the north enders. Shots on the day saw GRC pepper the Cats tender with 28 shots, and to his credit, he was a brick wall for most of them. Goals for the game went to Jack Coyle, Luke Afman and Blake Grieve each with 1, Jake Eaton picked up 2, and Hayden Zimmerman got the hat trick. Assists on the day went to Hayden Zimmerman, Jake Eaton, and Ronin Dixon each with 1, Brock Grieve with 2, and Jack Coyle with 3! The Eagles kept the turnovers to a minimum and allowed the possession to stay with the Eagles. The defense was stout allowing only 4 shots on net. Ground Balls for the contest were decidedly in the Eagle's favor with Luke Selfe, Wyatt Kooistra, the Grieve Twins, Crue Lindgren and newcomer Marcellus VanderKodde each picking up 1, Luke Afman, Colin Wildman, and Hayden Zimmerman with 2 each, Jack Coyle with 4 and Jake Eaton with the Hoover Award for the game sucking up 5! Game 2 - GRC 10 - Comstock Park 2 - The second game of the day saw the Laxer's take on the Panthers from da Park! Ronin Dixon set the tone for the game by once again controlling the face-off X and giving GRC lots of time in possession of the rock. The defense again proved to be a brick house limiting the Panthers to only 9 shots. The Eagles were scooping up Ground Balls with cat-like quickness, with Luke Selfe, Blake Grieve, and Kellen Dixon each grabbing 1, Marcellus VanderKodde doubling his output from Game One with 2, Jack Coyle, Brock Grieve, and Luke Afman with 3, and Hayden Zimmerman and Jake Eaton in a Catfight with 4 each. The goal-scoring was fairly evenly spread around with Jack Coyle, Luke Afman and Jake Eaton each netting 2, while Hayden Zimmerman banged home 4 Ginos! Turnovers were once again kept low, and the defense got plenty of rest. Game 3 - GRC 1 - Petoskey 5 - The Eagles went cold in the 3rd game of the day as they faced the Northmen of Petoskey. While Ronin Dixon did well continuing his winning ways at the Faceoff X, the Eagles let the turnover bug bite, and what had looked to be a Northmen tender with a weakness for blocking shots down low, turned in an excellent performance thwarting all Eagles shots except a lone Gino from Brock Grieve with an assist from Jake Eaton. The Eagles went down 3 goals to 0 in the first half of play falling victim to the bull dodges of a Sasquatch-sized Petoskey Attackman. The Eagle coaches tried several lock-off combinations of defensemen on this Manchild; ultimately calling David, in the form of freshmen Kellen Dixon, to smite Goliath. And smite he did as time after time whenever Petoskey possessed the ball in the Eagle end the Leviathan from the Land of Snow called for the ball and cleared his teammates out to ISO (isolate his defensive coverage) the pesky David with the quick feet. Time after time Kellen girded his loins, made contact early, and kept it, never letting Goliath's hands get free, and stoning the Petoskey attackman for the entire remainder of the game. Truly an amazing performance for a freshman!

In the Boys Varsity Laxers first Tier 2 Conference tilt of the season, the Rockets of Muskegon Reeths-Puffer touched down in Eagles Stadium last night in what turned into the 2021 Goal Odyssey. R-P lit the lamp less than 5 seconds into the game after an Eagle turnover on a Ronin Russell-Dixon Faceoff win, and Houston it looked like the Eagles had a problem. The Eagles settled down and immediately answered with a goal of their own. The game went back and forth through all 4 quarters with the Eagles scraping out a small lead going into the 3rd Quarter, which evaporated by late in the 4th. With the game tied and less than two minutes to play, Jack Coyle found the back of the cage off of a strong downhill dodge from the top of the box using his feet to beat his defender and get the open lane to finish. It proved to be the game-winner as the Eagles grounded the Rockets' final efforts by playing some lockdown defense and creating some timely turnovers. Brandon K-Belt was a brick wall in the Eagles’ Nest making several timely saves and effectively clearing the ball upfield. Ronin Russell-Dixon was La Machine at the Faceoff X winning numerous draws on his own, and boxing out other players that allowed the Eagles to gain possession more often than not. Luke Selfe won the Hoover Award for the night sucking up 5 ground balls with Jake Eaton and Colin Wildman close behind with 4 and 3 ground balls respectively. The goal-scoring got spread around nicely with Hayden Zimmerman, Blake Grieve, and Luke Afman each putting (1) Biscuit in the Basket, and Jake Eaton picking up (4) Ginos. Jack Coyle was the big producer for the evening beating the Rockets netminder (5) times, along with getting the game-winner.

The Eagle Boys Laxers visited the Forest Hills Northern Huskies on Tuesday evening, and in a scene reminiscent of the Spartans at Thermopylae were outmanned. The fearless (25) on the Varsity roster this year sports only (10) upperclassmen, with the rest having great heart, but limited high school playing experience let alone at a Varsity level. The boys were missing several players due to college visits and injury, and the physical nature of the Tier 1 Huskies saw several players leave the game with more injuries. But the coaches cried, "Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more" and the boys responded; playing positions they were not comfortable in, short sticks players playing with long stick defense, attack running at middie, ultimately they did not quit. While the final score shows at 12-2, the boys held the Dogs to a 2-1 game until midway through the 2nd quarter, when the dam began to crack. Goals were scored by Freshman, Luke Afman and Senior, Jack Coyle, with Jack tallying the Apple (assist) on Luke's goal. Hayden Zimmerman was relentless on the ground balls with (5) before leaving the game with an injury at the half, and Aidan Quist, Brock Grieve, and Kellen Dixon each rounded up (3) GB's of their own. Words cannot describe the play of senior Goaltender Brandon "Leonidas" Konynenbelt facing (30) shots, and making some stupendous saves, some at point-blank range. Apologies to William Shakespeare....

Saturday afternoon in the first matinee tilt of the season, the Eagles visited the Wildcats of Jenison. Let it be said that this was a David vs. Goliath moment as the Eagles lineup is sporting a bunch of fresh faces this season with seven to eight freshmen or sophomores on the field of eleven at any one time, and Jenison was camped out on a upperclassmen laden team with over (40) seniors and juniors on their rosters. While a bit wide-eyed to start, the fellas did not shy away from the pressure and matched goals one for one with the Octogenarian Cats all through the first half. Brandon Konynenbelt stood on his head in the cage and kept the Cats in their litter box when they were peppering our net. The 3rd quarter saw the Eagles begin to drift behind, and midway through the period were down by (3). After a few adjustments in the defensive strategy, a reinvigorated group started stepping on the gas, and soon the Eagles had tipped the score in their favor by (3). They would continue to lead throughout the remainder of the game, but Jenison continued to chip away at that lead after a couple of untimely penalties on the Eagles created player-down scores for the Cats. The Eagles headed into the last minute of play with a (1) goal lead and with 30 seconds left to play Jenison found the back of the cage to tie it up. The sudden death overtime had the Eagles start in a player-down situation after a penalty at the end of regulation and the Wildcats star player converted a couple of minutes into the OT to give them the "W". Brandon K. took up residence in Fuego all day long facing (23) shots and making several incredible saves. Ronin Russell-Dixon took most of the draws on the day as Utility Player Extraordinaire, Senior Captain Aidan Quist filled in at LSM and everywhere needed. Ronin took (17) trips to the Faceoff X, and won a lion's share of them. Luke Afman continued his production from Friday chipping in a goal, and West Catholic Sophomore, Erik Mileski tallied his first of the season off a sweet pass into the crease from Junior Hayden Zimmerman with (3) Cat defenders draped on his back. Ronin Russell-Dixon took the ball off a draw and weaving his way through Wildcat defenders until he found himself on the Cat goalie's doorstep, and preceded to drop his special delivery into the back of the net for his first goal of the season, too. Three Hat Tricks were handed out on Saturday with Jack Coyle, Jake Eaton, and Zimmie each knocking (3) biscuits in the basket. The boys play the Huskies of Forest Hills Northern at their igloo on Tuesday night.

Friday night the Boys Varsity Laxers took the field at Eagles Stadium in what has been too long a layoff. Their season opener had the Sailors of South Christian rowing over from the south side of town, and the game did not disappoint. The Eagles jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back. Junior Ronin Russell-Dixon and Senior Aidan Quist were dominant splitting the faceoff duties and won their share of the draws. Senior Brandon Konynenbelt after a 2-year hiatus was like the Great Wall of China in net, facing 14 shots and turning away all but 4. Ground Balls have been a pre-season focus for the coaches, and after a weak first half in that department the boys stepped it up in the 2nd. Senior Jack Coyle, Sophomore Luke Selfe, and Freshman Blake Grieve had (4)  GB's apiece while Sophomore Jake Eaton and Freshman Brock Grieve chipped in with (3) each. Scoring on the night saw a two-way tie between Jack Coyle and Jake Eaton with (4) Ginos each, Freshman Luke Afman lit the lamp for (2), while Brock Grieve also found the back of the net for one.