Crusaders Lacrosse Club

In the semi-final match the Crusaders avenged their only loss of the season with a 5-4 victory over top seeded Skyline. The Crusaders never trailed in the hard-fought contest as AJ Guralas put them on the Board early, first with an unassisted goal and then by setting up Connor Keane for the Crusaders second tally. Kyle Arrillaga had a nice goal off his own faceoff victory at a critical juncture and Ben Hastings notched what proved to be the game winner midway through the 4^th quarter.   The talented Skyline club kept the pressure on, however, and the Crusader’s defense was well tested.   In the end they were up to the task and held Skyline to a season low 4 goals. Defenseman Bryce Joerger even contributed offensively with an assist off a beautiful and athletic solo clear. Steven Jenab earned another game ball by recording a season high 14 saves!

The Crusaders played the Elk Grove Gladiators in the championship match and once again pulled off one of their signature hard fought, highly tense, one-goal victories. Leading scorer AJ Guralas once again led the way offensively with 2 goals and an assist. Kyle Arrillaga had a goal and an assist and Connor Keane and Liam McCarthy chipped in a goal and an assist, respectively. Offensively, however, the hero was game ball winner Brian Yeager who had two goals in the contest including the game winner late in the 4^th quarter after Elk Grove had stormed back with 3 straight goals to tie the game. ..truly a clutch performance. However, any Pups White recap would be incomplete without noting the defensive effort.  The boys once again made their defensive minded coach proud with an incredible performance, also limiting Elk Grove to a season low goal total. Led by Bryce Joerger, Rob Carpenter, Casey Hanni, Sean Elmurib, Alex Frazier, Kyle Arrilaga and goalie Steven Jenab, the Crusaders continuously frustrated the Gladiator offense and handily won the groundball battle. AJ Guralas, Kyle Arrillaga, Liam McCarthy and Alex Frazier also did a very nice job playing keep away from the Gladiators as they ran out the clock in the final minutes. The final was 6-5 Crusaders!

The championship is a testament to the hard work put in by the boys and to the incredible instruction and inspiration given to them by head coach Chris Grejtak with help from assistants Chris Lonergan, Kurt Joerger and Andreas Guralas. Coach Grejtak took a group of boys from all different schools and with different abilities, the vast majority of whom had never touched a lacrosse stick before the season, and molded them into a skilled, competitive and tight-knit team. Beyond their gold medals, the boys also won a whole new set of friends through the process.  Congratulations to Coach Chris and the Pups White players!