Fireantz conquer the Big Easy

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- In what could be described as a modern day David vs Goliath story, The Woodlands Fireantz lacrosse team, with an average age of 13 conquered the 15U Big Easy Tournament in New Orleans winning six straight games against teams from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alabama and Tennessee.

The Fireantz rising 7th and 8th graders went up against rising freshmen and sophomores who were much bigger but were successful by playing a disciplined all-around game never swaying from head coach Jeff Anderson's game plan.

Lacrosse games can be won in a number of ways but a "W" can not be registered without playing solid defense and the Fireantz defense played about as solid as a defensive unit can play giving up a stingy 16 goals in six games with Goaltender Matthew Nunes achieving an unheard of tournament GAA (Goals Against Average) of 79%. Fireantz defensive stalwarts included Ethan Dellmor, Blake Hidgon, James Pendley, Max Snover and Gabe Coates.

The stiffest competition came in Game 5 against the Oklahoma Chaos in which the Fireantz were able to win by the slimmest of margins, 3-2. The Fireantz were up 2-0 at halftime but the Chaos battled back scoring two goals in the second half while shutting out the Woodlands contingent. For this particular tournament, tie games are settled in Braveheart fashion which is a four on four competition with the first goal determining the victor. The Woodlands sent out Justin Shearer, Alex Garcia, Nunes and Pendley.

To start things off, The Woodlands lost the Braveheart face-off but were able to regain possession as Shearer roll-dodged his defender to create a shot but lost the ball before he could get the shot off. After a ruthless pursuit, Shearer gained control of the ball and unloaded a quick pass to Garcia who closed the deal to send the Fireantz to the championship game.

The Fireantz showed they weren't resting on their Braveheart laurels by upending a tough Austin Elite squad, 7-4 to earn The Big Easy championship hardware.

Their ascent included a Game 1 victory over Cougar Lacrosse out of Louisiana 8-2. Game 2 saw the Fireantz take down the ATX (Austin) Jammers 9-3 to give the team from the Texas capital their first loss of the summer. The third game of the tournament the Fireantz took care of a much larger squad of players out of Christian Brothers high school in True, Tennessee, 7-3. Game 4 was a breather as they went up against an inexperienced Alabama Stars and Bars squad not allowing a goal in a 9-0 rout.

Coach Anderson was pleased with his team's performance...
"The boys executed the game plan that we set for them and were not imitated by the size and speed of these teams. This experience will get them ready for 8th grade lacrosse at their respective home teams."

Filling out the Fireantz roster were Connor Stockerl, Avery Martin, Ben Welling, Alex Brooks, Cameron Howley, Dylan Binney, John Imperato, Alex Garcia, Sam Sullivan, Gabe Coates, Cade Kennedy, Vinnie Tombari, Clay Rothwell and Lucas Horswell. Assistant Coach: Ben Welling