Defensive Stands Define Spalding vs. Boys' Latin Showdown

Opening up MIAA play, Boys' Latin defeated Archbishop Spalding 10-9 on Friday afternoon in a game defined by strategic offense and strong defensive play.   Spalding's offense was heavily influenced by Boys' Latin's zone defense. They attacked with carries to stretch the Laker defenders out of position, opening lanes for skip passes. This led to dunks by [player_tooltip player_id='22649' first='Joey' last='Matassa'] and [player_tooltip player_id='123346' first='Ethan' last='Ostrowski']. On the other end, Boys' Latin used its big/little offense to consistently attack Spalding's short-stick defensive midfielders. In the final seconds, goalie Gerrett Held made a clutch stop with less than five seconds remaining to secure the upset over a team that came into Friday <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/2025/03/prep-lacrosse-national-high-school-rankings-week-2-march-24/">ranked fifth in Prep Lacrosse's national rankings</a>.     If you watched this game, you'd realize that Gerrett Held contributed much more than the five saves recorded in the stat book. Playing behind Boys' Latin's zone defense, he made key plays that helped his team secure the win. Held made an impact by stepping out of the cage to buy time for his defense to rotate, disrupting feeds with interceptions, and beating the Cavaliers to the endline to steal possessions. He also came up with big-time saves. In the first quarter, he made an incredible diving stop, going pipe-to-pipe to rob [player_tooltip player_id='28097' first='Gordon' last='Bennett'] of a goal. Most importantly, with seconds left on the clock, he made the game-winning save to seal the victory.     Higgins is a key reason why the Lakers run a big/little offense. He excels in the two-man game, making him a constant threat. On Boys' Latin's first goal, Higgins received a pick, but his defender overplayed it. Instead of using the pick, he rejected it and scored low and away. Another reason this big/little offense is so dangerous is because of addition by subtraction. Bringing a pick to Higgins removes a defender from the slide package, creating an instant advantage. If a slide comes, he will pick the defense apart by finding the open man. Higgins finished the game with two goals and three assists.     Shaw had a tough matchup against Navy commit Brock LaRochelle, but he still showed up in a lot of ways. He put up his first goal dodging a tough approach then going down the alley to finish low and away. A play that many coaches will notice was his third-quarter goal off of a restart. He beat his defender out on a shot, and his defender dove, leaving Shaw uncovered on the restart. Shaw ran in on the restart, faked a pass that moved the goalie then beat the goalie near side, ultimately finishing with two goals and an assist.     Hopper has to be a main emphasis in transition when it comes to opposing team's scouting reports. Hopper continued his impressive scoring season with another goal in transition in the fourth quarter. Not many LSMs can score like him in transition. He scored his goal underhand off stick into the top corner. He played the wing on face-offs, scooped at least four groundballs, and played fundamentally sound defense. He is the type of defender Lars Tiffany will love at UVA.     Offenses need a player like Diego to break down a strong zone defense. He has the ability to put zip on skip passes while maintaining perfect timing and deception. When Spalding needed a pass threaded through the defense, he was the one to deliver. A team also needs players who can shoot with power, and Diego fit that role as well. He scored Spalding's second goal of the game after receiving a pass in the middle of the field. With a quick hitch to get past his defender, he fired a shot for a goal.

Opening up MIAA play, Boys' Latin defeated Archbishop Spalding 10-9 on Friday afternoon in a game defined by strategic offense and strong defensive play.