The first game of the Gary Cintron era could not have played out any better.
The Saint Ignatius prep lacrosse team stormed to a convincing 18-2 victory over the Solon Comets on Sunday morning at the Krenzler Dome at Cleveland State University.
Three Lax Cats tabbed hat tricks in a banner day for the team's offense.
The scoring started early, with Jack Moriarty tallying the first goal of the 2018 season. Michael Boehm soon followed up with his first goal, second, and third goals of the season in short order. Anthony Ameo scored off his fifth faceoff win in a row and Nate Conry quickly scored, granting the Wildcats a 6-0 lead before fans could blink.
The onslaught continued through the first. Charlie Kinzel found the back of the net before Greg Langermeier, hero of the hockey state title game, scored his first two goals of the lacrosse season.
Moriarty placed the final emphasis on the period with the team's 10th goal before Solon got on the board as time expired in the first. The Wildcats held a commanding 10-1 lead heading into the second.
Conry erupted for a pair of goals to start the second stanza. The junior tallied the 11th and 12th goals of the game for the Wildcats for a hat trick. Langermeier then became the third Lax Cat of the day to accrue a hat trick on a nice goal. Connor Cmiel added a goal before Solon finished off the scoring in the half.
After just two periods, the Wildcats led by a huge margin, 14-2.
The second half saw less scoring, as the Lax Cats eased off the gas pedal. The squad scored four goals in the third, and none in the fourth, to finish off the Comets, 18-2. Langermeier, Will Gerard (2), and Merick Hartley all contributed goals in the second half.
"A win is a win and that is great! Moving forward as the head coach, I can see the potential in the team and in the coaching staff that has been assembled," Cintron said. " On paper, when you take a wealth and depth of talent that is the lacrosse athletes we have and cross them with the wealth and depth we have in knowledge with the lacrosse staff you can only hope the future is bright. Yesterday is yesterday and tomorrow holds another challenge."
Tomorrow indeed hols a new obstacle for the Wildcats, in the form of a talented team from University School. The Lax Cats will host the Preppers at 7:30 pm on Wasmer Field.
Ignatius Beats Ignatius: In a battle of teams named Saint Ignatius, your Wildcats defeated the Wolfpack of Saint Ignatius Chicago, 8-7, in overtime. The teams met halfway at Trine University. The varsity blue team will head south to play Upper Arlington next Saturday in Columbus.