CREVE COEUR – Senior Marco Sansone was a dynamic offensive force as the quarterback of the SLUH football team this fall, leading the St. Louis metro area in completions and passing yards.
But this spring, Sansone is a lockdown defender on the SLUH lacrosse team with a purpose of limiting scoring … and eliminating scorers.
“It’s definitely nice to deliver a few hits instead of taking them,” Sansone said.
Sansone anchored a stifling SLUH defense that allowed just one goal over the final 33 minutes as the Jr. Bills opened their Metro Catholic Conference schedule with a convincing 13-4 victory over Chaminade Tuesday at Don Ohlms Field.
SLUH (7-2, 1-0 MCC), defeated Chaminade for the second consecutive season by holding the Red Devils to their lowest goal output against a St. Louis-area opponent since 2018.
The game began with all the ingredients of a signature, MCC duel. A man-advantage goal by Chaminade senior John Nicpon opened the scoring and was answered 27 seconds later by SLUH’s Owen Posnanski.
A five-star save by Chaminade senior goalie CJ Reilmann became the catalyst for the second goal by Nicpon, but just 1:36 later, SLUH senior Sean Boyd scored on a wraparound, and the first quarter concluded with the teams tied 2-2.
Nicpon earned his hat trick early in the second quarter, and it was answered just 19 seconds later by SLUH.
But the tying goal by Jr. Bills’ junior Nicholas Ridgway, who pinballed off defenders before depositing his shot, exhibited an elevated toughness that SLUH carried throughout the remainder of the quarter.
A save by Reilmann was scooped up in traffic by SLUH junior Teddy Wagner, who delivered a strike to Nicholas Bendaña for the go-ahead goal. A courageous run by senior Andrew Petersen through a gauntlet of angry sticks freed up Boyd at the doorstep for a 5-3 cushion.
“I thought we did a better job defensively in understanding what they were doing,” SLUH coach Andrew Toussaint said. “We adjusted well, we rode well, we cleared the ball well and we got good shots. We were able to set the tone at that point.”
And the tone became louder and more energized through the play of senior Vince Chappuis.
After clanging the post seconds earlier, Chappuis fired a laser over the shoulder of Reilmann to give SLUH a three-goal lead. He closed out SLUH’s exceptional second quarter by accepting a pass from Henry Unger and tickling the twine with 14 seconds remaining to propel SLUH to a 7-3 halftime advantage.
“Henry was running down the field, made a great move, cleared it, got it back and had a great assist. I just put it in the back of the net. He made it easy for me,” Chappuis said.
Chappuis, who plays with a “bionic brace” protecting a left knee devoid of a meniscus, credited the increased energy of the SLUH offense to the improved play of the defense.
“Things weren’t falling in the beginning of the game. We were getting the looks, we just weren’t putting them in the net, but our defense really stepped up and started making plays. We knew we had to step it up for them,” Chappuis said.
And that defense was anchored by the lockdown efforts of Sansone, who began playing lacrosse as a fifth-grade attackman but changed positions as a freshman.
“It was my decision. If I wanted to play varsity as a freshman I had to switch to (long stick middie). I played LSM for two years and then got switched to D pole. It’s a little different mentality out there trying to prevent goals, but I definitely like giving the hits instead of taking them,” Sansone said.
Chaminade (3-6, 1-1) scored the first goal of the second half when senior Tate Roberts made a brilliant, one-handed, over-the-head catch and closed the deficit to 7-4 with 8:11 remaining in the third quarter, but it was final goal the Red Devils would score.
In all, 10 different players scored for SLUH, with Chappuis, Boyd and senior Josh Bertram leading the way with two apiece. Despite the impressive result on the scoreboard, Sansone believes the Jr. Bills have much more to give.
“There’s definitely been sparks of good play and great defense, but we still haven’t played a full game yet,” Sansone said. “We’re looking pretty good right now, our trajectory is really high, but we still have a lot of room to grow.”
SLUH (7-2, 1-0) will travel to Webster Groves to face the Woodchucks at 7 p.m. Thursday before facing powerhouse Rockhurst at home at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Chaminade (3-6, 1-1) will host CBC (6-1, 1-0) in another Metro Catholic clash at 7 p.m. Friday.
Additional photos can be found at metro_sports_stl Instagram.