BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
The Wolves came back from spring break showing off their lacrosse skills they worked on with a 12-9 win over Notre Dame Prep, April 10.
“It was good,” said Clarkston Boys Varsity Lacrosse Head Coach Brian Kaminskas. “We got off to a slow start, but they held strong and played well. They did the things they are going to have to do all year to be competitive and win games.”
Notre Dame Prep was up 3-1 after the first quarter. Drew Vandenberg closed the gap less than one minute into the new quarter.
Matthew Atchison tied the score less than three minutes later before teammates Keelan McKouen and Jack Gurn closed the first half with the Wolves in the lead, 5-4.
Clarkston scored four more times in the third quarter with contributions from McKouen, Vandenberg and Keegan King before the stanza closed, 9-6.
McKouen led during the final quarter as he scored three goals, marking his first with 8:33 remaining in the game. Then, he hit the net again with 4:43 left before scoring his final score of the night 20 seconds later.
The boys were back on the field the next day with a 12-1 loss at Troy High School.
“I think our age and lack of experience showed against Troy,” Kaminskas said. “We came off a good win against Notre Dame Prep, and the guys were a little lighter and a little unfocused going into Troy. When Troy came out and did their thing, we got knocked back on our heels and didn’t recover. Troy is an older team and that got us a little bit, too.”
Eric Csimadia scored the lone goal for Clarkston in the first quarter. Kaminskas added the loss will help the boys remain focused.
“They know it’s a long season and in the grand scheme of where we are at in the third week of April,” he said. “It’s not a loss we want ,but not a loss that is going to affect us all that much. We spent all day Thursday going back through and redoing some of the goods and bads and how do we improve on both of those. We are just moving forward. Keep plugging and keep improving – it’s a long year.”
The Wolves opened the week on Tuesday against Birmingham.
“They are still rebuilding a little bit,” Kaminskas said. “It will be a good game. They tend to be well-coached and are good athletes.”
They host Lake Orion on Thursday before hosting Saline next Wednesday. JV plays at 5:30 p.m., varsity follows.
“Lake Orion is a game our guys get up for and get excited about,” Kaminskas said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to extend a little bit and play into the rivalry. We have young guys who don’t understand the rivalries but did experience it against Troy so they won’t be going into it blind.”

  Clarkston Boys Varsity Lacrosse