TOWN AND COUNTRY – Peter O’Leary took it personally.
The MICDS faceoff specialist, who was named ‘Most Valuable Player’ of last year’s state title game, struggled to gain possession at the faceoff ‘X’ during a regular season loss to CBC on May 1.
In the rematch with the Cadets on Friday, and with a state championship on the line, O’Leary vowed to dictate the middle of the field – with some help from his friends.
“Coming into the game, everyone had a different mindset. It was all about (CBC) having to play us, not the other way around,” O’Leary said.
O’Leary and the Rams’ midfielders shared responsibility and the MICDS offense shared the ball in a convincing 17-5 victory over CBC to win the Class 2 Missouri Scholastic Lacrosse Association ‘Show-Me Cup’ at Missouri Baptist University.
MICDS (13-4) captured its 10th state title in the past 11 seasons and 14th championship in the 2000’s.
CBC (16-3), which last played for a state title in 2015, walked the short path from the CBC campus to Spartans Field brimming with confidence. The Cadets gained more positive vibes when Camden Chambers won the opening faceoff and Phil Jakubowski scored 20 seconds into the title contest.
But O’Leary and the MICDS wings did not allow an unchallenged clear for the remainder of the game. Combinations of Jack Tipton, Henry Swoboda, Billy Moore, Luke Koman and Graham Faust made a beeline for O’Leary and either escaped with the ground ball or relentlessly hounded the CBC ball carrier.
“Our gameplan was to turn them over and push them back so they didn’t have a front exit,” O’Leary said. “Even if faceoffs weren’t going our way, we would still get possession.”
MICDS controlled five of the next seven faceoffs and took control of the game. The Rams dominated possession time because they treated faceoffs as a team event.
“When we moved to a focus of, ‘It’s a unit, not an individual,’ then we got the ball a lot,” MICDS coach Andy Kay said.
And MICDS evolved other parts of its game as well. During the regular season meeting with CBC, a 13-10 loss, the Cadets utilized a surprise zone defense that MICDS unsuccessfully tried to attack from behind the net. On Friday, the Rams creatively attacked from the perimeter, using jab steps, fake passes and fake shots to force overzealous defensive slides.
Ian Spakowski picked up a hat trick in a 2 minute 48 second span of the the first quarter, launching left-handed lasers from almost the identical spot on the field – the right wing, 15 yards from the cage.
“A lot of it was just the flow of the offense. Graham (Faust) got slid to a lot, so the skip pass was there,” Spakowski said.
Spakowski scored his fourth early in the second quarter to give MICDS seven unanswered goals and a 7-1 lead. It prompted CBC to change to a combination, man-zone defense that placed a shadow to follow Spakowski all over the field.
“I got locked off, but we have a ton of talent. It’s not anywhere close to just me,” Spakowski said.
That talent was on display with crisp passing and selective shooting, resulting a pair of goals from Faust to give MICDS a 10-2 halftime lead.
“Patience, patience. We were jittery (in the first meeting), we wanted to score the ball, but we had to have patience, and our patience is what really set it off tonight,” Faust said.
After limited ball movement during a 7-6 semifinal victory over SLUH, the Rams recorded an assist on nine of their first 12 goals, including five helpers from Steele Crissman.
“Against SLUH we had zero assists, so you better believe we were in their ear about that,” Kay said.
CBC went to a full, man-to-man defense in the second half, but there was no stopping the MICDS train. Faust finished with five goals and took home MVP honors, Spakowski and Justin Bishop added four apiece, and six different Rams found the twine.
“We came out of (the zone), and it didn’t necessarily change anything,” CBC coach Mike Liebreich said. “We played a really great team tonight.”
CBC (16-3) compiled its best record since going 20-3 in 2014 and reached the state title game for the first time since 2015. The Cadets other two losses this season came by 10-9 scores to South Walton (FL) and Priory.
“This team had a great season. 16 and 3, number one seed, made it to the state championship game. We have a lot to be proud of,” Liebreich said.
And it was O’Leary who set the tone, just as he did last season against SLUH when he was named MVP, and just as he did as a freshman two years ago against De Smet, in a game where he most likely would have been named MVP if the Rams had won.
It’s about locking in for these games and trusting your teammates,” O’Leary said.
He added, “If there’s no pressure, there’s no diamonds.”
For a Class 2 championship photo gallery visit: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/2024-Boys-Lacrosse/Boys-Lacrosse-2025/MICDS-vs-CBC-Class-2-championship
