PARIS — Derrick Brooks had a record-setting senior day at Gouin Athletic Complex.
Brooks is Oxford Hills’ new leader in career goals with 103 after scoring three in the Vikings’ 13-1 victory over Edward Little in a Class A boys lacrosse game Tuesday.
Brooks said the program record is the product of years of hard work, and he’s happy he set it on senior night.
“I can’t even describe it,” Brooks said.
He was one of three Oxford Hills players to score three goals Tuesday, joining Owen Marr and Jack Bessette. Brooks and Bessette also had one assist each.
“It was a team effort,” Brooks said. “We had our first defender score all year — that was big. We had a lot of fast breaks, a lot of hard work.”
Brooks set the school record with his 101st career goal early in the first quarter, giving the Vikings a 1-0 lead nearly two minutes into the game.
“I think if I got (the record) out early in the game, it was going to be less stressful,” Brooks said.
Brooks then stretched the lead to 2-0 less than a minute later. Bessette scored the Vikings third goal a little past the three-minute mark.
Oxford Hills (5-7) took advantage of a young Edward Little (2-8) team that included Bjorn Sanberg making his first appearance in goal.
“We have a lot of young guys on the defensive end, and a first start for a new goalie tonight,” first-year Red Eddies coach Tyler Haskell said. “Again, going back to growing pains on the defensive end and the offensive end.”
Marr scored his first goal 6:20 into the first quarter.
Long-stick defender Lucas Clark became the first Oxford Hills defender to score this season when he ran three-fourths of the field during a man-up situation, and fired a shot that beat Sandberg (six saves) and gave Oxford Hills a 5-0 lead late in the first quarter.
“We have been trying to create a play for a defender and trying to get them going every once in a while,” Vikings coach Hunter Rowell said. “Our goalie (Troy Edmunds) tried it as well, but he got stopped there.”
“We have been practicing for a defender to score all year,” Brooks said. “I can’t think of a better night for it to come together than tonight.”
After a scoreless second quarter, Brooks notched his third of the afternoon early in the third quarter. He has scored 30 goals this season.
Marr scored twice in the third, extending the Vikings’ cushion to 8-0.
Bessette scored 11 minutes into the third quarter. Silas Timm added an unassisted goal right before the buzzer to make it 10-0.
Rowell said ball movement was key for the Vikings.
“We were working the ball in different sets the past couple of weeks,” Rowell said. “So, just playing with our hearts and our heads was really the goal today.”
Bessette and Timm scored nine seconds apart midway through the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 12-0. Garrett Worcester later added the 13th and final tally for the Vikings.
Edmunds’ shutout bid ended with a minute left in the game when freshman Orrin Slover scored for the Red Eddies.
“I wish we put a couple more in the net, but they were sitting in that 3-3 zone and we weren’t moving as much as we could have,” Haskell said.
Rowell said Edmunds (nine saves) wasn’t concerned about getting a shutout during the game.
“He’s doing a hell of a job,” Rowell said. “He’s not worried about the stats — he’s just playing his game. We started talking about the shutout and he said, ‘Whatever happens coach, we are playing great as a team.'”
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