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PONTIAC – Neither team was certainly in midseason form this early into the 2025 boys lacrosse season, but Pontiac Notre Dame Prep definitely looked a little more polished on Tuesday night on its home field against Troy. Playing in its fifth game of the season, the Irish made fewer errors and controlled most of the possession to earn an 11-5 victory over the Colts. “I liked what I saw from the offense.
Our shooting could be better, but we moved the ball well,” NDP coach Roger Soulliere said. “We were pushing the pace and getting the transition opportunities we like to base our offense off of. If we could move the goalie a little more, I think I’d be even happier.
” Coming off a 15-4 record in 2024 that saw NDP (3-2) reach a D2 regional final, this year’s squad is much younger. The Irish have just six seniors on the roster, but that youth didn’t show itself much on Tuesday. Related Articles Photo gallery of Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs.
Troy in boys lacrosse action Lutheran Northwest well-positioned for another Final Four appearance next season Michigan Sports Writers Division 3 All-State boys basketball team led by Brad Coleman of Millington Michigan Sports Writers All-State boys basketball team led by Salenbien of Adrian Lenawee Christian ATAP coach Orlando Lovejoy Sr. expects more success after Lions’ first finals appearance “We have a lot of guys stepping into roles that haven’t been in them before,” Soulliere said. “I am proud of the way we fight.
We like to play fast, and our guys are doing that. I think these guys can learn from the preparation last year’s team had. Those guys did a great job of being prepared and coming out strong for each practice.
That is what makes a good team great. If we can take that and apply it this year, we will continue to do good things.” For Troy, it was playing in its first game of the season on Tuesday, fresh off a week off for spring break.
“Lacrosse season always deals with spring break at the start of the season and a lot of our guys were coming back from their spring break, and it showed,” Troy coach Brian Johnson said. “Notre Dame was the better team today, but I think e have the ability to play much better. We are just tapping into our potential and will get better and learn from this.
” Troy (0-1) is also coming off a 15-4 record in 2024 where it reached the D1 regional finals. Also like NDP, the Colts are relying on a big junior class with a lot of new faces in the starting lineup. “We have a big junior class, but not many of them have been in big roles for us.
Last year’s guys really held each other accountable and I think they passed that on to this year’s team,” Johnson said. “That’s a big thing we need to maintain this year so we can keep improving week-to-week.” Tuesday’s game could have gotten out of hand if not for the play of Troy junior goalie Joey Clark.
Clark made 19 saves on the night, keeping the Colts in the game for most of the contest. “The way we played, this game could have been a lot more lopsided, but Joey made tremendous saves,” Johnson said of his goalie. “He deserves all the recognition for us.
When you have a goalie like him, he can be a huge momentum shifter. He is going to keep us in a lot of big games as we shake off the cobwebs and get better in all phases.” Clark’s play is nothing new, as he has been a shining star for Troy since he was a freshman.
Clark’s saves on Tuesday allowed the Colts to trail just 6-4 at the break. Photo gallery of Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Troy in boys lacrosse action /*! This file is auto-generated */!function(d,l){"use strict";l.
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” Notre Dame Prep kept peppering the net in the second half, but Clark made 11 saves in the half. The Colts just couldn’t find enough offense to keep the score close, getting outscored 5-1 over the last two periods. The Irish were led on the night by senior Nate Seaman and junior Julius Livernois, who each had three goals and an assist.
Junior Ashton Gust recorded two goals, while junior Brodin Sink had a goal with two assists and Billy Collins had three assists. Troy was led offensively by junior Jack Horvath, who had three of the team’s five goals..
