Representing Las Vegas and the ever-growing sport of lacrosse to the fullest, the Faith Lutheran Middle School club team won the boys middle school division of the third annual Jam by the Sea lacrosse tournament played April 8 and 9 on the campus of the University of California, San Diego.
Faith Lutheran, which played in the tournament as the Las Vegas Crusaders, defeated two schools from Arizona and one from California in going a perfect 4-0 in the tournament, which featured play in the boys' middle school division for the first time this year.
The Crusaders and goalie Matt Smith shut out the PQLC Tigers of San Diego, 14-0, in their opener on April 8, and then defeated the Greenfield Grizzlies of Gilbert, Ariz., 6-3, in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals later that day.
Faith Lutheran beat the Anderson Jaguars of Chandler, Ariz., 6-4, to earn a berth in the championship game, where the local team would again play the Anderson Jaguars, a squad that qualified for the title tilt by winning the loser's bracket of the six-team tournament.
After falling behind 1-0 in the championship game on April 9, the Crusaders came back with five unanswered goals to beat the Jaguars, 5-1, and capture the tournament title.
Leading the way for Faith Lutheran was Ian Bobak, who scored 14 goals in the tourney including two in the championship game.
Teammate Kieran Eissler, a second-year starter for the Crusaders despite being in the fifth grade, also notched two goals in the title game and had six goals in the Jam by the Sea tourney.
Goalie Smith had over 25 saves for Faith Lutheran, currently in first place in the Middle School Lacrosse League with a 5-1-1 record.
"The guys have really been jelling since mid-March," said Crusaders head coach Tom Perrigo. The team outscored opponents by a healthy 31-8 margin in the tourney. "We've really been playing at a high level, and our team play has improved tremendously. I like our chances to win state again this year."
Faith Lutheran has won the state middle school championship in each of the last three years.
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