Tiger lacrosse remains victorious

The weekend in Central Texas provided perfect weather for lacrosse and the Dripping Springs Tigers remained perfect moving to 4-0. It is the first-time in team history to be undefeated moving into Lake Travis week and spring break. The Tigers handed Flower Mound (2-2) its second loss of the season with a 12-6 beatdown and turned around on Sunday and beat Kingwood (1-6) 14-5.

The Saturday meeting with Flower Mound was against a familiar foe. These teams first met in 2014 and the Jaguars scarred the Tigers first playoff appearance with 3-17 pounding. Flower Mound’s winning margins would lessen over the years until 2019 when Dripping Springs would finally turn the tide. The 2021 Tigers stayed on the right side of history. Junior Ryan Williamson got Drip on the board first and the Tigers would hold their lead 5-3 at halftime. Sophomore Taden Frickel put his name in the Tiger record book with the program’s first hat trick by a long-stick middy and etched his number on the team hammer for outstanding play. Senior captain Charles Hunt dropped in four goals with an assist.

Sunday saw another team with historical significance. Kingwood bounced the Tigers from the playoffs in 2019. Junior Jack Tanner wasted no time exacting revenge scoring his first of four goals to give the Tigers the lead at 6:12 in the first. Drip would never trail in the game. Senior captain and goalie Cade Latham got his second win in as many starts. Sophomore Aiden Kane had four assists keeping him perfect with points in every game this season. Hunt kept his 12-game scoring streak alive with two goals and two assists. Jaden Diaz, a senior and captain, won the hammer for outstanding play. “You have no idea how long I have been waiting to get this thing (the hammer),” said Diaz.

Junior defenseman Cody Smith was awarded the Dripping Springs Century News player of the weekend. “We had an amazing defensive effort all weekend anchored by Cody Smith who was as efficient on-ball as he was with the ball in his stick,” said head coach Bill Cafferata. “We have to turn up the dial this week for Lake Travis because the smallest of margins win these games.” The last three games against the Cavaliers have been decided by a goal.

The Tigers are at home against Lake Travis (4-1) on Thursday night. LT beat the Tigers with :06 left in double OT a year ago. A day later play was suspended for the remainder of the season due to COVID-19. Admission is free. Faceoff is at 8:15 under the lights. JV plays at 6 PM.