LACROSSE

state, and we proved it tonight.”

Ward’s nine-save night was a big reason why the Golden Eagles (16-3) came out on top. After letting four shots sneak past him in the opening quarter, which put Vista at a quick 4-1 disadvantage, Ward was a completely di erent shot blocker the rest of the way.

Valor (17-2) scored just once in the second quarter and Ward pitched a shutout in the third. Meanwhile, Vista scored seven times over the second and third periods — three goals from Joel Palasz, two from Ethan Pearson, and one each from Dawson Long and Brady Brown — to turn a three-goal de cit into an 8-5 lead.

“He was the player of the game for us,” Plitnick said of Ward, who will take his lacrosse talents to Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. “He was seeing the ball beautifully — the low shots, the high shots, everything.