Loyola Sticks to Plan

It didn’t take long for Palisades High goalie Turner Hanley to get into last Friday night’s varsity lacrosse game against Loyola. He made several point-blank saves in the opening minutes and eventually the Cubs’ sustained attack wore down the Dolphins’ defense in a 12-5 Loyola victory at Stadium by the Sea. “We have to work harder on knowing where the men are,” Hanley said. “Our offense is good, we just need to make more shots. We need to bring on as much intensity as we can and play with mental focus.” Palisades scored on midfielder Shane Centkowski’s goal with Loyola down a player because of a penalty. The lead was short-lived, however, because Loyola senior Andy Kurstin intercepted a pass and scored on a breakaway–the first of five goals for the Santa Monica Canyon resident. Kurstin is one of nine Palisadians on Loyola’s roster. The others are Nick McCormack, Justin Tabit, Corey Rasmussen, DB Henney, John and Luke Mullan, Alex Kutsukos and Cameron Lancey. Palisades’ senior captain Jack Satz grew up playing the sport with many of the Loyola players. “We knew what we needed to do, but our offense is young,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll get a rematch later in the season.” After Hanley made three more saves teammate Charlie Bailey scored to put the Dolphins ahead 2-1 after the first quarter. Loyola seized control of the game in the next six minutes. Kurstin scored, then Max Lightbourn tallied the first of his three goals. Centowski’s goal pulled Palisades within 6-3 at halftime. “They had a controlled defense and a lot of experience,” Centkowski said. “Our starting offense is sophomores, which is a lot of promise for us.” In the second half, Max Groel assisted on goals by Tyler Wenker and Satz but that was all the offense Palisades could muster. Despite a valiant effort by Hanley, the Cubs scored six more times and spent the majority of the final two quarters on the opponents’ side of the field. Despite the loss, Palisades Coach Scott Hylen was proud of his team’s effort, especially praising his goalie. ‘It would’ve been 22-5 without Turner [Hanley],’ he said. ‘He’s one of the best athletes on the field. The loss dropped Palisades to 1-1 on the season but Hylen knows it’s a long season: “We’re 75 percent sophomores across the board [JV and varsity] so we’re looking good for the future. All in all, we’re happy with the way we played and we’re only going to get better.” 10B Loyola’s Andy Kurstin (left) avoids a check from Palisades midfielder Ben Malisoff during the Dolphins’ 12-5 loss Friday night at Stadium by the Sea. Photo: Kevin Crane