Playing in their final match wearing the Rockhurst white and blue, seniors scored 19 of the team’s 20 goals as the Hawklets claimed their fourth straight Lacrosse Association of Kansas City (LAKC) championship on May 24, 2024. They blitzed rival Lancers Lacrosse early, scoring seven goals in the first period, then sealing things late with another barrage to claim the 20-12 win.
The Hawklets took control from the opening face-off. Sophomore Gentry Curtis won the head-to-head, then, after some efficient ball movement, senior Luke McNamara cashed in with a goal 59 seconds into the match. McNamara’s spirited reaction sent a message that this wasn’t just another game.
A little more than two minutes later, senior Colin Komenda went top-shelf to give the top-seeded Hawklets a 2-0 advantage.
The Lancers got their first goal 30 seconds later to cut their deficit in half.
After that, both teams went into a scoring drought of about three minutes, a period of time defined by physical play and aggressive pursuit of the ball. Rockhurst was often the aggressor, laying out Lancers players with crushing checks or filling the stadium at Blue Valley West High School with the sounds of sticks colliding as they tried to knock the ball free.
When the scoring recommenced, it came in a hurry, and all from Rockhurst. The Hawklets scored five goals in the last 5:17 of the 1st quarter.
The first came from Missouri’s all-time leading scorer, McNamara, on an assist from fellow senior Jack Bichelmeyer. Forty-three seconds later, McNamara and Reid Moshier found themselves on a breakaway, and McNamara fed Moshier for the easy goal. Twenty-three seconds after that, Bichelmeyer once again assisted McNamara to give Rockhurst a 5-1 lead.
At the 2:15 mark, Bichelmeyer got a goal of his own. Komenda then capped the scoring with 1:27 left in the 1st period, taking it on his own from midfield, pushing through contact to give the Hawklets a 7-1 advantage.
Bichelmeyer resumed the scoring barrage just 38 seconds into the 2nd quarter. Nice ball movement yielded McNamara’s fourth goal of the match at the 9:50 mark. But that would be the last Rockhurst goal for more than eight minutes of game action.
A Hawklets turnover led to a quick Lancers goal. Then, it was the Lancers’ turn to control the ball for a period of time, though it only resulted in one more goal, making it a 9-3 game with five minutes to go in the first half.
Rockhurst turned up the pressure after that. They unleashed a barrage of shots at Lancers goalie Jack Kessler at the 3:31 mark, but none of the three tries yielded any goals.
The Hawklets’ offense would breakthrough when Komenda faked high and went low for his third goal of the match with 1:40 to go in the 2nd quarter. Subsequent trash talk did net Komenda a 1:00 penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
McNamara tallied the final score of the half with 23 seconds left, giving him five goals through the first 24 minutes–two more than the entire Lancers team could muster. Rockhurst cruised into halftime leading 11-3.
Just 13 seconds into the second half, senior Sam Stegall put the Hawklets a man down when he was hit with a cross-checking penalty. But even that didn’t look like it was going to slow down the Rockhurst attack. Senior Billy Eckles notched a short-handed goal 19 seconds later.
Bichelmeyer’s third goal of the game and a Curtis goal off the subsequent face-off stretched Rockhurst’s lead to 14-3. From that point forward, however, the Lancers would outscore the Hawklets the rest of the game.
The Lancers, whose only loss on the season was to Rockhurst, scored three goals over a four-minute period of time. Komenda would add another tally for the Hawklets with 1:34 to go in the 3rd period to give them at 15-6 advantage heading into the final frame.
In the 4th quarter, the Lancers struck first, netting two goals within the first 90 seconds. But McNamara responded with his first goal of the second half at the 9:38 mark.
The Lancers scored again a minute later, but that’s when McNamara and company slammed the door on any comeback ideas. Rockhurst scored four times within roughly a three minute period. McNamara notched three of those with fellow senior Christopher Mohajir tallying the other. Those stretched Rockhurst’s lead to 20-9, effectively ending things with 4:35 left to play.
The Lancers would score three goals in the final 3:19, including one with 36 seconds left and another with just :05 left on the clock, but those simply narrowed the margin of victory for the Hawklets to 20-12.
When the clock hit :00, Rockhurst players flooded the field to celebrate completing their four-peat of LAKC championships together. Then, they sprinted over to the student section to celebrate and sing the alma mater with their fellow Hawklets.
The victory sent the seniors out on a high note, making them undefeated in LAKC championship matches during their tenure. School scoring leader McNamara, Komenda and Bichelmeyer–all contributors their entire careers–collectively scored 16 of the teams goals, with fellow seniors Moshier, Eckles and Mohajir notching one apiece in their final high school match.
