TRAVERSE CITY — Casey Schaub said his Traverse City West boys lacrosse team was a little rusty early on.
No wonder. The Titans only practiced outdoors five times this spring coming into Wednesday’s showdown with rival Traverse City Central at Thirlby Field.
“It was nice to have some nice weather,” Schaub said. “It’s been brutal this spring.”
The Titans started off a bit slow, but eventually led 6-5 going into halftime.
West led 12-8 with two minutes left before Central narrowed the gap with a pair of goals.
“They started pressuring and got a couple goals on us,” said Schaub, a former assistant coach at Central. “They fought hard the whole game. It was a super clean game. I couldn’t be more proud of the lacrosse community and how they represented themselves tonight.”
Cam Mienk scored four goals for the Titans, while Cam Lewandowski had three goals and an assist.
Barrett Schook and Dane Lewandowski each added two goals, with School drawing an assist as well. Defenseman Brock Lewandowski scored a goal and Grady Ellis had an assist.
Hans Gruber made 11 saves and Matthew Budd, Syrus Ritola and Sam Schripsema led the West defensive effort.
“Great game, both sides played a fabulous game,” Central head coach David Dobreff said.
The Trojans (0-3) and Titans (1-1) tangle again in three weeks on April 29.
West travels Saturday to Holt, while Central visits L’Anse Creuse North on Friday and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s the day after.