The Northwestern boys lacrosse team split its two games last week, falling to a tough Nazareth team 9-5 before downing Liberty at Tiger Stadium in a 15-5 win. The week leaves the Tigers at 5-3 on the season, just behind Allentown Central Catholic (4-3) in ranking points for the top spot in District 11 Class 2A.

In the win over the Hurricanes, every facet of the game came together for the Tigers. The offense was crisp and moved the ball well on set plays to get into position to score from both up close and outside. The defense is without Cody Hallock, who is out for the season with an injury, but freshman Braxton Lakatosh took over and fit right in to prevent many open looks against goalie Bailen Smargiassi, who was tough in goal.

“We played well today in every aspect,” said Tiger head coach Marcus Janda. “The offense came out and put them away early. The defense played really well. Our ball handling was where we want it to be, and I am really happy with our performance.”

Austin Sosnovik, off an assist from Blaine Snyder, scored just 11 seconds into the game and less than a minute later Cade Christopher made it 2-0. Less than a minute after that it was Stone Sosnovik taking a pass from his older brother Austin and before the Hurricanes got settled, they were down 3-0 with 10:10 to play in the first quarter.

Things quieted down until Austin Sosnovik scored goal number two for him on the day with 2:37 left and Snyder added a goal with just :12 remaining to play before the break.

In the second quarter, Austin Sosnovik, Stone Sosnovik and Snyder all added goals before the midway point of the quarter. Liberty got a goal from Jay Torres with 4:17 left to make it 8-1 and the quarter ended with Austin Sosnovik notching his second goal of the quarter and fourth of the day with a line drive from 15 yards out that found the top of the net with only :05 remaining. The goal was the 24th of the season for Sosnovik.

Both teams changed goalies at the half with freshman Dane Kauker taking over for Northwestern. Liberty changed some tactics and before Kauker worked out the jitters, Liberty had made it 10-3 with 10:08 left in the third. No worries for Northwestern because the offense just went back to work with Stone Sosnovik and Snyder both scoring twice, with Snyder’s goal putting him at 25 on the season. Lakatosh also got in on the scoring and made it 15-3 before the start of the final period.

“We worked well today and communicated well with each other,” said Stone Sosnovik. “Even the young guys who aren’t always out there played well and did an excellent job both offensively and defensively. Our team is really cohesive right now and it shows on the field.”

With several young players getting a chance to play, Northwestern focused on working set plays and went into an exhibition of ball control, swinging the ball around the outside perimeter while looking for a shot. Unable to break much of the Liberty defense, the Tigers were unable to score, but ran more than five minutes off the clock. Liberty got two goals from Jonathan Smith to make it 15-5 but were unable to get any closer.

“It’s important for us to get these young guys some time on the field, especially since we don’t have a JV team this season,” said Janda. “They did a nice job, and I told our guys on the sideline to watch what they were doing because they were executing plays perfectly and moving the ball around, being patient and looking for opportunities.”

The Tigers play Pleasant Valley and Southern Lehigh this week before a rematch with Central Catholic, who they met in the district finals last season and fell 13-3.

“We have been waiting for that game, but we have to keep playing hard against everybody and stay focused,” said Stone Sosnovik. “We did circle that game though because we want another shot at them.”