The Lakeridge boys lacrosse team is stacked.

The Pacers have talent, depth, experience and an abiding desire to win.

Lakeridge put all those attributes into action against Oregon City at Pioneer Memorial Stadium, eventually routing the Pios 21-2 on Wednesday, April 30.

“We came out a little slow, but I think we really ramped it up at the end and I think the energy tonight really helped me personally,” said Lakeridge senior faceoff specialist Cash Groves, who won 12 of 13 faceoffs vs. OC. “I love playing with a hyped team and playing fast, so I really liked all the energy and it kind of escalated throughout the night.”

“I’m not going to lie — they’re not the most talented team, but they’ve got heart and they stayed hyped the whole game,” said Lakeridge junior attack Michael Asher, who tied for game-high scoring honors with three goals and two ground balls. “They didn’t slow down no matter what the score was. I think they’re a good team.”

“It’s a lot of fun when we get to play free and play how we want to play,” added senior midfielder Kellan Aird, who finished with two goals and two ground balls. “But we’ve definitely got to finish a little better. We missed a couple of opportunities.”

Along with a 20-0 win over Lake Oswego on Friday, May 2, the Pacers’ 12th straight, Lakeridge improved to 2-0 in Three Rivers League play and 13-1 overall. Oregon City, meanwhile, lost for the third straight time and fell to 0-2 in TRL action and 3-7 overall.

Lakeridge – its bus got lost on the way to Oregon City – started slowly and fell behind 2-1 on a pair of goals by Cole Norton, the second of those coming 4 minutes, 28 seconds into the contest.

But the Pacers awoke then and there, shut out Oregon City for the game’s final 40:28 and left the Pioneers in the dust.

Lakeridge finished the first quarter on a 5-0 run in the final 6:14 of the period, with two of those goals coming from freshman attack Enzio Fedrizzi for a 6-2 lead.

Then, in the game’s final three quarters, the Pacers put together a dominant 15-0 stretch to leave the Pioneers far behind. Aird connected twice in the second quarter, while six different players (Fedrizzi, senior Tristan Martin, senior Colin Fratzke, senior Charlie Coyne, Asher and senior Taran Joshi) scored in the third, and four different players (senior Liam Brown, Martin, junior Will Pinkerton and senior Spencer Walkenhorst) connected in the fourth.

“(The key is) just playing as a team,” Aird said. “We communicate when we play for each other, when we play for each other and just play without fear.”

“I have really high hopes for us and I think this is the year,” Asher said. “We’ve been wanting this for so long and I think we’ve always been the underdog to Jesuit, but I think this year is going to be different.”

“As long as I can go out saying I did the best that I could, no matter what the outcome is, as long as I have fun with my boys, that’s what counts,” Groves added. “As I can play with them and have a good time, then whatever the outcome is, fun is more important than that.”