The season of the sticks is well underway as the Hastings Boys Lacrosse team has played nine of their thirteen regular season games already. The season started with two tough opponents, Rosemount and Eastview both of which ended up in losses. Then the Raiders had their first home game of the season and it was the “Highway 61 Rivalry” against the Park Wolfpack. This game didn’t disappoint as it was a banger all the way till the final whistle, resulting in a 15-13 win for the Raiders. Then the very next day the Raiders had another close game against St. Paul/Two Rivers which resulted in a 13-11 win for the Raiders, bringing their record to 2-2.

The boys then had a couple tough losses, one to a good Mahtomedi team and the other was a heartbreaking 14-15 overtime loss at home to the Hill Murray Pioneers. The Raiders rallied though and put a beatdown on Simley with a 15-5 win at home. The next night they faced a very well-polished Farmington Tigers team and it didn’t go the Raiders way. Once again though the Raiders turned the ship around and took down Rochester Century/Mayo in another close 13-11 win on Senior Night at Todd Field.

Speaking of Seniors, I want to give a shout out to the 11 seniors, Wyatt Vieth, Cody Wenzel, Logan Tryba, Jack Burdick, Tony Lau, Ryan Clemens, Alex Siebenaler, Brady Nickel, Derrick Steinke, Sawyer Zaruba and Brooks Smyrski. Whether you played all four years of high school or this was your first year it’s been a pleasure to watch and wish you the best in the future.

I want to give a shout out to a few other players as well starting with Senior attackmen Wyatt Vieth who leads the team with 25 goals and 12 assists. Also, Freshman Carter Hanson who got moved down to the attack position this season and has scored 21 goals through the nine games. Lastly, I want to give massive props to Senior Goalie Brooks Smyrski who before this season had never played lacrosse, let alone the hardest position to play. He has done an incredible job and has an over 50% save percentage.

The Raiders have also hosted multiple Try Lax Days at Todd Field. These are intended to get youth boys and girls who might be interested in playing lacrosse out on the field with the high school team where they learn how to pass and catch and just have a good time playing lacrosse. If you’re interested in getting someone into lacrosse whether they are under 8 years old or even a high schooler, you can go to hastingslacrosse.com to find out more.

The next time you can catch the Raiders in action is Tuesday, May 14th, at St. Thomas Academy at 7:00 p.m., then Thursday, May 16th, at New Prague at 6:30 p.m., then against Cretin-Derham Hall Saturday, May 18th, at Todd Field at 7:00 p.m., and the final regular season game vs Chisago Lakes Monday, May 20th, at Todd Field at 7:00 p.m.