PARIS — Senior attacker Keegan Roberts’ guile, guts and fancy stick work served him well and dazzled Oxford Hills in a KVAC boys lacrosse contest Thursday.
Roberts plundered the Vikings’ (6-4) net with six goals and dished out three assists to steer Mt. Blue (9-1) to a lopsided 13-0 victory.
“I just had to keep my head down to the grindstone,” Roberts said. “This game was big for us because (the Vikings) are worth a lot of Heal points. So this puts us high up in Class B right now and puts us in perfect position for the first round of playoffs.
“My team is great. This is the first year that every one’s No. 1 priority is lacrosse.”
The first quarter got off to a slow start for both teams, until Roberts kicked off of would become an endless parade to the Oxford Hills net with his first goal of the afternoon.
Mt. Blue then went on a tear in the second quarter, punching in eight goals as the Vikings tried to put a cork in the Cougars’ offense.
“I think it was a combination of the kids just working together, doing what we do,” Mt. Blue coach Matt Reynolds said. “Offense, we have been working on some different things. That was clicking. We have some great leadership on the defensive side of the ball … and pressuring when we can.
“I think it was team effort today that just worked out beautifully. I can’t remember the last time we had a shutout for our senior goalie Nick Fraser.”
Roberts turned in a hat trick in the second stanza with three unassisted goals. Trinity Titus and Josh Smith supplied two goals apiece and Chase Ranger added one, putting the Cougars well ahead of the Vikings with a 9-0 lead going into the second half.
The Vikings suddenly came alive in the third quarter but couldn’t put a dent in the Cougars’ nine-goal lead.
“We had a great moment in the locker room. We felt inspired,” Oxford Hills coach Hunter Hunter Rowell said. “It didn’t connect today, and hopefully we can get them again.
“It certainly wasn’t how the season has been going for us. We just came out flat today and we stayed in our heads quite a bit today.”
Smith added his third goal and Roberts slipped in his fifth goal to make Mt. Blue’s lead 11-0 in the third quarter. Smith and Roberts traded places on each goal to earn an assist.
The Cougars deposited another two goals, with Ranger and Roberts performing the honors, in the final stanza.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
