Palo Verde Rallies From 6 Down at Half to Beat Henderson

By Nathan Max
WSL Executive Editor

Vermont-bound senior attackman Mike Quinn registered a game-high six points on five goals and one assist to lead No. 7 Palo Verde to a come-from-behind, 14-11 victory over previously unbeaten Henderson in a Southern Nevada Lacrosse Association Division I game Tuesday.

Senior middie JoJo Milosevic added five points on three goals and two assists to help the Panthers (12-0) extend their season-opening winning streak to 12 games.

Junior attackman Jimmy Bivans finished with four points on three goals and one assist, junior middie Jordan Grant had four points on two goals and two assists and senior attackman Andrew Turner pitched in four points on a goal and three assists to round out the offense for Palo Verde, which overcame a 10-4 halftime deficit.

“I’m proud of the composure we displayed,” Palo Verde head coach Gary Campo said. “We never gave up.”

Defensively, senior goalie Connor DeVane saved 18 shots, and his team needed pretty much every one of those stops.

In defeat, junior middie Jet Harding had four points on three goals and an assist, and freshman attackman Kieran Eissler added four points on two goals and two assists for Henderson (4-1), which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Schyler Bloesma scored three goals, Connor Morgan had three points on a goal and two assists and Brandon Knudson scored twice.

In the cage, goalie Hutch Hutchinson saved 12 shots.

“Bottom line, we played the first half trying to win,” Henderson head coach Paul Parasugo said. “We played the second half trying not to lose. Good things do not happen when you play not to lose.”

Indeed, the first half was all Henderson. After Palo Verde took an early 2-0 lead, the Cougars closed out the opening 24 minutes with a stunning, 10-2 run to seemingly take control on Nevada’s top-ranked team. Palo Verde, which to this point in the season has dominated its competition from Houston to Seattle, had not come close to facing a deficit this large in any of its previous 11 games.

“We have a target on our backs, and my kids have to realize that,” Campo said. “We didn’t come to play. We didn’t give that team the respect they deserve. Once we figured that out in the second half, we came to play.”

Palo Verde came out on fire in the second half. The Panthers scored five straight in the third quarter to close within 10-9, and with the game tied, 11-11, in the fourth, Milosevic scored the go-ahead goal with 5:36 remaining.

Quinn finished off the win with back-to-back goals with 2:09 and 1:00 to play to give the Panthers a final-score line that was not at all indicative of the run of play.

“They showed why they are the number one ranked team in Nevada,” Parasugo said. “They played with composure and never panicked, regardless of the score. Our team could learn a great deal from that.”