Athens continues hot hand against improved Troy
BIG HIT: Troy Athens Brandon Neal (left) is bumped off the ball by Troy's Ben Olson. Staff Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
TROY — Needless to say, Troy Athens did not find being a bridesmaid satisfactory in 2010. The Red Hawks are making sure that does not happen again.
Athens, which finished second in the OAA Red Division boys lacrosse standings last season, and lost in the Division 1 regional finals — both behind Birmingham United — are on their way of not finishing second this season.
The Red Hawks clinched at least a tie for the OAA-Red title Thursday by topping rival Troy 11-6. Athens moved to 10-4 overall and 4-0 in the league with only one league game reaming against Rochester Adams.
“Our goal this year and every season is to win the league and get to the (state) semifinals,”said Athens coach Nick Stetsen. “The league championship comes with it. We fell short last season. We definitely feel we have the (potential) to go a long way this season.”
Athens has held quite an upper hand on Troy in recent times, not losing to the Colts since 2002, over a dozen meetings between regular season and state tournament games featuring the two arch-rivals.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve lost to Troy. That says an awful lot about the program and how well we’ve done over the years,” praised Stetsen. “This shows how hard the kids work every season.”
Senior Joe Kemp was a thorn in the Colts’ side all night, as he finished with seven goals and is already one of the all-time leading goal scorers in the Athens lacrosse program, which was formed back in the mid-1990s.
“He’s probably one of the only unstoppable players in the state,” smiled Stetsen.
Kemp wasn’t the only Athens player into the scoring act, as Dakota Badder scored four times and Dan Kreza notched four assists for the Red Hawks.
The Colts’ loss actually signals a significant improvement. Last season in a Division 1 second round regional game, Athens ousted Troy by a commanding 16-2 count.
Troy assistant coach Aaron Mallin, who was filling in for head coach Towbey Kassa, said the Colts are a program on the rise, even in defeat. The Colts (3-8-0, 0-3-0) are far more competitive than a year ago.
“This is as close we’ve been to Athens in about five years,” said Mallin. “These guys are getting better. I think we’ve got a nice (junior varsity) program and players that will help us ion the future .I think this program is on the upswing.”
Nick Kondoleon scored three times for Troy, while Niko Vukov, Connor Heyden and Miles MacDonald also tallied for the Colts.
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Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps, Troy, Troy Athens
