Boys Lacrosse: Tigers move on with first-ever playoff win

Brendon Berg eight goals on eight shots (photo by Jim Lindquist)

To say Farmington and Rochester John Marshall/Lourdes are evenly matched teams might be something of an understatement.

During the regular season eked out a 12-11 win when the teams met in Rochester. Monday night at Tiger Stadium, it was another nail-biter with the eighth-seeded Tigers pulling out a 10-9 victory over the No.  9 seeded Rockets in the opening round of the Section 3 tournament.

The win, the first-ever in post-season play for Farmington, advanced the home team to a quarterfinal match-up Friday night at top-seeded Eastview.

"The difference this time was our staying out of the penalty box and man-short situations," Tiger coach Paul Sorensen said. "Also, our guys on defense stepped up to take on a more physical style that seemed to help quite a bit."

It didn't hurt either that attacker Brendon Berg had a career night, scoring goals, connecting on all eight of his shots, to dominate the game offensively. Trevor Howard and Matt Ackerman garnered the other scores for the winners.

Trevor Howard goal, 3 assists (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Howard also had three assists for a four-point game. Chris Fitzgibbons had two assists and Ackerman and Jake Bauman one apiece.

The Tigers led only 5-4 at intermission but looked to be in control of the outcome when they took a four-goal lead into the final period.

"Give credit to John Marshall," Sorensen said. "They played hard all 48 minutes. They have a gutty team."

Friday's match-up with Eastview that will present a whole new set of challenges for Sorensen's 8-5 team.

"Our D poles are growing up fast," he said, "and they will face two of the best attack men in the state with Eastview. We look forward to the challenge."