The Benedictine lacrosse team recently finished its best season in school history.
The Bengals ended up 11-4 and advanced to the second round of the Ohio High School Lacrosse Association tournament before being upset by Toledo St. Francis, 13-5, at Western Reserve Academy. They were ranked second in the Division II northwest region. Last year, the Bengals finished 8-7.
Coach Mike Fink is the only leader of the Bengals in the five-year history of the program.
“It’s always hard when a season comes to a close in a manner that makes you feel like there was work left undone,” Fink said. “But the future of the program looks bright with so many talented, hardworking underclassmen already challenging for roles at the varsity level.”
Fink talked about his senior class, which numbered 14 of the 53 players in the entire program. That’s up from 32 in the first year of the program.
“This team had a good blend of experience, youth and talent,” Fink said. “It’s really a tight-knit group on and off the field.
“It has truly been a pleasure working with and watching this group of seniors grow on the field and more importantly off the field. Five of them have started since they were freshmen and all have the ability to do great things in college and beyond. The reason why this program has progressed so quickly is due to the great young men that Benedictine has come to represent on all of its sports teams.”
Fink also wanted to thank his assistant coaches for their work this season including Justin Snyder, Bill Ready and Mike O'Donnell.
One of the biggest wins of the season was the Bengals’ opening round victory over Akron Archbishop Hoban, 14-3.
"Any time you can advance in the postseason, it's a great win," Fink said. "I was most pleased with many contributors we had in the victory. The defense played at (its) highest level of the year, backed up by a strong goaltending performance by senior captain Pat Hubman. Offensively, six different players contributed at least one goal to the victory. In all, 34 different players saw time on the field and contributed as well."
Hubman is a four-year player, who made 210 saves this season.
One reason for the better season was an improvement in offense as the Bengals averaged more than 2.5 goals per game then they did last year. Senior attack Joe Rich set a single-game record with seven goals in Benedictine's 12-8 victory over Shaker Heights. He was third on the team with 51 points with 48 goals and three assists. Rich was named first team all-region.
Senior Nick Kirsch, an all-Ohio midfielder, led the team with 62 points with 39 goals and 23 assists. He also won 89 percent of his face-offs. He was Benedictine's second player named first team all-region.
Senior midfielder Nino Marino had 58 points on 28 goals and 30 assists. He was named second team all-region.
Junior attack Vinny Carson had 19 goals and 16 assists for 35 points. He was honorable mention all-region.
Defenseman Brennan Hall and midfielder Joshua Doerner (13 goals, 10 assists) both were four-year players for the Bengals. Hall was second team all-region while Doerner was honorable mention.
Ben St. John, a senior attack and midfielder, added 11 goals and 10 assists while sophomore midfielder Blair Alexanderson had 15 goals and four assists.
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