Getting in rhythm: American Fork boys lacrosse gets fourth straight win at Salem Hills
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- American Fork junior Keaton Thatcher (44) celebrates after scoring a goal during the non-region match against Salem Hills in Salem on Friday, March 29, 2024.
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- American Fork senior Chaz Mooney attacks the Salem Hills goal during the non-region match in Salem on Friday, March 29, 2024.
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- American Fork defenders battle Salem Hills senior Brigham Halford during the non-region match in Salem on Friday, March 29, 2024.
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- American Fork sophomore Sawyer Jensen wins a faceoff during the non-region match against Salem Hills in Salem on Friday, March 29, 2024.
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- Salem Hills senior Brigham Halford attempts to shoot a shot past American Fork defenders during the non-region match in Salem on Friday, March 29, 2024.
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- American Fork junior Keaton Thatcher (44) celebrates after scoring a goal during the non-region match against Salem Hills in Salem on Friday, March 29, 2024.
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- American Fork senior Carson Forsberg shoots a shot during the non-region match against Salem Hills in Salem on Friday, March 29, 2024.
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- American Fork sophomore keeper Tyler Allen blocks a Salem Hills shot during the non-region match in Salem on Friday, March 29, 2024.
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- American Fork and Salem Hills players battle for a loose ball during the non-region match in Salem on Friday, March 29, 2024.
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- American Fork players stand together before the non-region match against Salem Hills in Salem on Friday, March 29, 2024.
In their six games in the 2024 season, the American Fork boys lacrosse team rarely had a chance to catch their breath.
The Cavemen lost games to Davis, Roy and Weber to start the year, but beat Wasatch in overtime, knocked off Timpview and edged Waterford by a goal.
In Friday’s non-region game at Salem Hills, American Fork found its stride on both ends of the field – particularly in the first half.
The Cavemen stymied a number of early chances by the Skyhawks, then seized control and built a 9-1 lead.
The Skyhawks rallied in the second half and matched American Fork the rest of the way, but that meant the visiting Cavemen were able to secure the 16-8 win.
“We were happy,” American Fork head coach Adam Lisonbee said. “Right now we’re a bit of a work in progress. We’ve got a lot of young players but even a lot of our seniors are first-year varsity starters. We are trying to make progress in every game and every day in practice. We did enough today and it was a good W for us. And we’ll take it.”
The home team got some good plays early and had some opportunities, but couldn’t get the ball past Caveman sophomore keeper Tyler Allen.
Then American Fork’s offense got rolling, with goals from senior Luke Squire, junior Keaton Thatcher, senior Bennet Fillmore and two from senior Easton Wakefield to build a 5-0 lead after the first quarter.
“There were points in the game where we had some struggles but for the most part we were firing on all cylinders,” Wakefield said. “We were moving the ball well and played good defense for most of the game.”
The visitors kept it rolling in the second period, sandwiching additional goals from Wakefield and Fillmore around a pair of finishes by senior Carson Forsberg.
Salem Hills did get on the board with a goal from senior Parker Cowley, but American Fork headed into halftime with a big advantage.
“We played pretty good,” Wakefield said. “That’s probably one of the best halves we’ve put together all year.”
Salem Hills got more physical on defense and started passing better in the final two quarters, which allowed them to match the Cavemen the rest of the way. But it wasn’t enough to close the gap.
Wakefield ended up leading the way for American Fork with four goals in the game, while Forsberg had three.
Lisonbee said his squad likes to share the scoring responsibilities and get a lot of guys involved offensively.
“We share the ball a lot,” Lisonbee said. “It’s a big strength of ours. No one really seems to feel like they have to get theirs. They’re happy to have a guy go off and get five or six goals. But if that’s a different guy every game or if we get two or three or four guys have three goals each, they love that. We like to have multiple goals scorers and we had that today.”
Wakefield said playing on team that appreciates unselfish play is a blast.
“I personally like it a lot,” Wakefield said. “We will have one guys score four goals in one game, then have two assists in the next. Everyone is getting in on it. Everyone has good games. It’s fun to play on a team like that where everyone gets looks.”
The improvement on both offense and defense have been big for the Cavemen as they have bounced back from the tough first few games.
“We’ve had some injuries we’ve been dealing with and were a little shorthanded in those first games, but those are good teams,” Lisonbee said. “They’re winning a lot of ballgames, and they’ll continue to do that. We lost those first three, but we’ve won four straight and we feel good about the direction we’re going.”
Wakefield said that as a player, he gets the sense that things are starting to click for American Fork.
“I think we’re just we’re playing more as a team,” Wakefield said. “We’re not trying to do more than we need to and I think we’re just coming in more together. We need to keep improving on the small details. Everyone makes mistake but it’s important to clean up all those small things.”
The Cavemen are going to need that as they prepare for the upcoming challenges they will face in Region 3. Lisonbee said the key will be to continue to buy into the team concept.
“Everything we do, it’s going to be as a team,” Lisonbee said. “If we’re going to get better defensively, and I know we can, it’s going to be because we figured it out as a team. The guys are rotating and they’re in the right place at the right time. They’re trusting each other. They’re sliding when they need to slide and they’re recovering quickly.
“It’s the same with the offense. We made some adjustments and we tried to get guys into a position where they’re a little more comfortable on the field. That sort of opened things up and we’re getting a lot more looks. It’s a young group but I think they’re bought into what we’re trying to do long term.”
American Fork (4-3) next hosts Box Elder on April 8, while Salem Hills (5-3) will look to get back on track when it plays at Payson on April 9.
Both games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
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