Josef Bae prepares to score a goal for Liberty. (Photo by Action Captures Media)
The Liberty High School boys lacrosse team made easy work of league foe Paloma Valley, 25-3, on Thursday night.
From the beginning, the Bison were dominant. They proceeded to hold the lion’s share of possession in Paloma’s defensive end throughout the first quarter and the game as a whole. It wouldn’t be long for Liberty to get on the board; Noah Ayala scored about two minutes in. Josef Bae quickly followed with a goal of his own not even a minute later.
The rest of the period played out the same way as Liberty consistently got scoring chances and capitalized on nearly all of them. Paloma’s Logan Astleford did score a goal in the middle of the Liberty barrage, but by the end of the period, it was already 7-1 Liberty.
Ayala finished the game with 8 goals scored, while Bae finished with 6 goals. Carter Lauritzen, Jason Andrick, and Cayson Lauritzen each finished the game with 2 goals as well.
The second quarter went even better for the Bison. They opened up the period scoring 3 goals in the first 2 minutes, two of them coming from Ayala and the other from Bae. Paloma again responded with a goal of their own from Joe Perry, but that was all the scoring the Wildcats would see in the period. Liberty went on to score another 6 goals, primarily through great set-up play in the second quarter, and took a 17-2 lead heading into halftime.
Coach Scott Cunningham commented on how well his team gelled during the game.
“I think this was the first complete game we put together this season where we played as a team,” he said. “If we play like this against the other teams in the league, the outlook should be good. It’s coming together. It’s only our fourth year as a program; our JV team has 15 freshmen, so we’ve got people coming in to help fill any gaps when we end up losing our seniors after this year.”
The third quarter was the closest period of the four played. With a running clock and Liberty giving their back-ups some playing time, most of the period was uneventful. Eventually, Liberty, with a goal from Ethan Lancial, opened up the scoring in the second half. Paloma quickly responded with a goal from Anthony Talierico, but that would be their final goal of the game. Liberty then added another two goals to end the quarter at 20-3.
“Our back-ups that normally don’t play got to play and did very well both defensively and offensively,” Cunningham said. “One of the guys we pulled up from our JV team, this is his first varsity game. He got two goals and two assists. The way the team moved the ball offensively, I would love to see that against tough teams we’ll play as the season goes on.”
Liberty then added another 5 goals in the fourth quarter with Andrick scoring, Ayala once again getting on the score sheet, Cayson Lauritzen netting two, and Kian Clark scoring in the closing seconds of the game.
Liberty (3-4) looks to continue its winning ways at Riverside Poly on Monday, while Paloma Valley (1-6) looks to get back on track on Monday as well at Linfield Christian.
Logan Astleford (17) advances the ball for Paloma Valley. (Photo by Action Captures Media)
Christopher Lau handles the ball for Liberty. (Photo by Action Captures Media)
Blake Bolden (25) controls the ball. (Photo by Action Captures Media)
Jakob Bae advances the ball for the Bison. (Photo by Action Captures Media)
Hunter Goldfarb looks to pass the ball. (Photo by Action Captures Media)
Landin Astleford moves the ball forward. (Photo by Action Captures Media) 
