Sentry Lacrosse

A recap of the Aggieland Tournament:

Most of our players and parents arrived Friday evening and Saturday morning ready and eager to play, but the tournament for the Sentry 2020 team actually began on Thursday when the Wheat family RV arrived at College Station, setting a new bar for what it means to tailgate at a lacrosse tournament. Equipped with A&M merchandise, enough food to feed a small army, and a warm family atmosphere, we immediately found our home-base for the tournament.

Our boys took the field Saturday afternoon, looking to make a statement and set the tone for the weekend. We exploded out of the gate and didn’t let up the entire day. Peppering the opposing goalies with shots from all over the field, we outscored our opponents 25-1 that day. The two wins were satisfying victories, but we knew our real challenge was rapidly approaching. After a delicious meal at the Wheat’s RV, we put Saturday behind us and focused on our next game against a very solid Woodlands team.

Our first game on Sunday was a dogfight. Big plays were being made all over the field and players were starting to step up and become leaders. Colin Campbell’s 2 man down goal sent a message to the other team that we weren’t going to back down from anyone, while Wesley Wheat’s terrific goal play reminded us all that scoring against Sentry is not going to come easy. This was our first ‘team’ win of the tournament, and I couldn’t be happier with the communication, unselfishness, and camaraderie that was beginning to instill within our team.

The Championship: This game was a rollercoaster of emotion for our team. We went down early against a very skilled FCA team, and found ourselves in a tough position going into the half, down 5-2. However, our players knew their potential, and with the help of another stellar performance by Wes between the pipes, we started to slowly crawl back into the game. The final goal came from Ian Larkin, who stung a 1 on 1 goal with about 4 minutes left in the game to seal the deal. A terrific defensive effort in the final minutes let us ride into victory. Though there were several big plays and game changers in the championship, one stat stuck out to me above the rest: we had 6 different players score in our championship win, a true team effort! The players learned this weekend (at least I hope), that practicing together, playing together, and being together through winning or losing is what makes a team.

It was great that we came out on top this weekend, but we hope everyone realizes that this was not by accident. It happened because we were playing together every week, having practices from 7:30pm-9pm twice a week, conditioning after practice as a team, and beginning to believe that we can persevere and overcome obstacles together. The coaching staff could not be more proud of how far this team has come.

In closing, we would like to thank all of the parents who helped make this weekend possible. Bob and Charlotte Wheat deserve a special thank you for bringing their RV and helping create a fun and family atmosphere at the tournament.

-Sentry 2020 Coaches Alex Fox, Steve Prifte, & Pat Debolt