After two losses against Rockbridge last season, Monticello’s boys lacrosse team had to know that a battle with the Wildcats would be an excellent litmus test for what appears to be a drastically improved edition of the Mustangs.
Monticello passed that test with flying colors.
The Mustangs wasted little time getting to work Thursday night against Rockbridge, rolling 18-6 while building an 11-1 halftime lead.
“The biggest key that we’re working on right now is ball movement and looking out for your teammate,” said Monticello coach Matt Hicks. “We’ve got the players right to move it around and we’re playing really unselfish ball right now.”
Chase Phillips led the charge with six goals, going score for score with Drew Gaffney who also poured in six goals on the night. The tandem led a lethal offense that moved the ball well and created several easy goals in front of the cage, with Phillips assisting on four of them while his brother Brodie Phillips dished out three assists. Chase Phillips has emerged as prolific scorer early this season as a junior after a strong sophomore campaign.
“Moving him off the wing and putting him behind the goal at X — we talked about it during the preseason and we decided that was the best decision for us,” Hicks said. “He’s got deceptive quickness when he’s behind. He’s been able to use that to get free, find his own goals and find his teammates.”
Monticello also finished off a handful of fastbreak goals, with longstick midfielder Spencer Van Dyke finishing one of those a won faceoff in the first half. William Snipes, a sophomore midfielder chipped in a pair of goals while Brandon Mantell and Michael Darby rounded out the scoring with a goal each
George Van Dyke made five saves on the night in the cage for the Mustangs. Tyler Wagner played a big role on the face-off as Monticello held a 16-10 advantage.
Adam Doll-Hennis led Rockbridge with three goals on the night.
Monticello will face a big test Tuesday against E.C. Glass at home at 7 p.m.
