SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Boys Lacrosse

Eastlake High boys lacrosse: moving up

Story by Phillip Brents

Photos by Christopher Allen Sampson and Phillip Brents

CHULA VISTA, April 12, 2004 -- Doug Murphy may seem a little impatient with his team at times but that perceived impatience is understandable: He grew up in the hotbed of the sport in Syracuse, N.Y. His standards are obviously high.

His patience likely has been tested a little less this season as Eastlake has made significant improvement on the field. Before the season is over, the Titans could challenge for the Metro Conference championship.

“One of our goals for this season was to finish .500. The other was to build a foundation. We’ve definitely done that. We had a lot of success despite having a lot of underclassmen out,” said Murphy, whose lineup featured just two seniors in a recent game against Preuss.

The big story this season, according to Murphy, is the emergence of Matt Scott, who had piled up 15 goals and five assists after taking just two shots the previous year.

At right: Eastlake's Matt Scott

He is teamed on the attack with last year’s leading scorer Anthony Charlton, who had racked up nine goals and five assists this season despite missing the team’s opening five games.

“We’re an improved team even though our record might not show it. We’ve lost a lot of close games,” Eastlake coach Doug Murphy said. “We’ve made progress but we’re far from attaining our goal.”

With seven games remaining on the schedule and sporting a 3-7 overall record, finishing at .500 may no longer be attainable, according to Murphy. But the prospect of challenging for the Metro Conference championship may be a realistic one.

The Titans dropped a 9-6 decision to Bonita Vista on March 10. Eastlake led 4-1 early in the game and held a one-goal lead at halftime.

The Titans host the Barons in the final game of regular season play on May 12. Game time is 5 p.m. at Rancho del Rey Middle School, the site of all Eastlake home matches.

The Titans have dropped games to Fallbrook (6-4), Helix (11-8), Santana (6-4) and Westview (6-4). Eastlake held a 3-1 lead in the game against Santana. The loss to Westview came in the Westview tournament that drew two teams apiece from Colorado and Utah as well as high caliber squads from Arizona and Northern California. “They’re a quality team,” Murphy said of Westview.

There are six returners on this year’s squad of 18 varsity players. Among those returners are Scott and Charlton, Kyle Hughes, Adrian Van Vleck, Derek Miller and Pablo Santana.

Impact newcomers include a pair of freshmen: Dustin Drees and goalkeeper Zach McElroy. Murphy said that Drees has “more than filled in the holes” while McElroy, voted the school roller hockey team’s “Newcomer of the Year,” has excelled in the net despite being new to the sport.

At left, Eastlake coach Doug Murphy discusses strategy during a timeout.

“He’d never played before but he’s been our goalkeeper from Day One,” Murphy said.

Other newcomers who have made contributions this season include senior Troy Sherry, junior Oliver Santa Cruz and freshman Ryan Rosas.

A transfer from Bonita Vista, Sherry is playing his first season of lacrosse but has played very well, according to Murphy. In fact, Sherry has become the Titans’ main face-off man.

Santa Cruz is another transfer and comes to the program with prior playing experience at University of San Diego High School.

Murphy said Rosas has a high degree of motivation to succeed on the playing field. “He’s the smallest guy on the team but he’s tough as nails,” Murphy said.

The Metro Conference currently consists of five teams. Joining Bonita Vista and Eastlake on the field locally are Montgomery, Hilltop and Chula Vista. Murphy said play within the conference has steadily improved, so much so that a changing of the guard could be in order soon.

Chula Vista and Bonita Vista got a jump-start on the rest of the conference as club teams before lacrosse was officially recognized as a CIF sport. However, parity has started to rear its head.

“It’s taken a half step up each year,” Murphy said.

The Titans, scoring seven fourth-period goals, fell 13-8 to Preuss last Friday. Murphy said his team would like to follow the example set by the UCSD-based academy. The third-year Tritons had been undefeated until meeting Serra two days prior to the matchup against Eastlake at Rancho del Rey Middle School. “They (Preuss) have made major strides in a short period of time. They may be one of the most improved programs in the county,” Murphy said.

The Titan coach would like to say the same thing about his team at the end of the season.

Preuss 10, Hilltop 1

The Lancers, who have won just one regular season game this season, trailed visiting Preuss by a 7-1 score through three quarters. “Last year, we had a pretty good year. We won around nine games. We had a lot of seniors on that team. We lost a lot of our defense (to graduation), guys who did a lot to plug up the other teams,” Hilltop coach Pete Bishop said.

Top players on this year’s Hilltop team include Adam Boshell, Chris Hunt, Anthony Aguilar and goalkeeper John Mayer.