There's been an expectation all season for the Rochester Mayo boys lacrosse team.
And the Spartans have spent all season living up to it.
That included Friday night, when they turned in one of their most impressive and dominating wins. It came at a nice time, in the Section One semifinals at Rochester Regional Sports Stadium.
Their victim was rival Century. And it wasn't close. Mayo rode its overall better athleticism and tight senior bond to bury the Panthers 11-2.
Next up is a date with the winner between No. 2 seed Lakeville North and No. 3 Lakeville South. That championship is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Rochester Regional Sports Stadium.
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Mayo has felt all along that it would get to the title game. And the No. 1 seed it was granted for the playoffs suggested the same thing.
Now the 10-4 Spartans — who ended just 6-9 last season — can't wait to play for that spot in the state tournament. It's the first time a Rochester boys team has ever advanced to the section lacrosse championship.
"We were talking about it just as soon as the game ended," said Mayo attacker Michael Fix, who "attacked" Century with five goals and two assists. "We're so excited to be playing in that game. At the beginning of the year, we all expected to go far."
Against Century, the outcome seemed in doubt for only the first quarter. That ended with the teams locked in a 2-all tie. Fix and Ethan Moore found the net for Mayo, and Jonathan Trachsel and Carter Scrimshaw did the same for Century.
But after that, it was all Spartans. They proved too fast, too united, and ultimately too experienced for Century — which finished at 7-8 overall — to handle.
Mayo virtually put the game away in the second quarter, when it outscored Century 4-0. Fix notched two more goals in that span, both of them of the pretty variety, and Moore had one and Justin Adams had one.
And the rest of the game, when Mayo wasn't in Century's end (which it was a lot), it was smothering the Panthers with their defense.
Century coach Andy Roth said that in good part it came down to experience. Mayo has quite a bit, led by six talented seniors. Meanwhile 14 of Century's 24 players are sophomores or below.
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That proved a tough way to play.
"Against a good team like (Mayo), which is big and strong, it's tough (with so much youth)," Roth said. "Mayo's defense is very solid."
It was so good Friday, that it held Century to its lowest scoring total all season.
Offensively, besides Fix's five goals, Mayo got three goals and two assists from Ethan Moore. Craig Jeffrey also had two goals. Defensively, Nick Fix was busy, coming up with a team-leading eight ground balls. Jack Cerhan had an assist and six ground balls.
Mayo 11, Century 2
Century #2#0#0#0#—#2
Mayo #2#4#2#3#—#11
Century:Jon Trachsel 1 goal, 1 groundball; Carter Scrimshaw 1 goal, 1 groundball; Drew Applegath 2 groundballs; Matt Birkholz 5 groundballs; Spencer Warfield 1 groundball; Grant Leet-Otley 3 groundballs, Nick Waara 1 assist, 4 groundballs; Seth Buryska 4 groundballs; Aaron Ajke 4 groundballs. Goalie: Eric Rohleder 9 saves.
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Mayo:Justin Rein 1 groundball; Ethan Moore 3 goals, 2 assists, 2 groundballs; Jacob Orvidas 2 groundballs; Matthew Moore 3 groundballs; Nicholas Fix 1 takeaway, 8 groundballs; Justin Adams 1 goal, 1 groundball; Loren Lorang 2 groundballs; James Johnston 2 groundballs; Blake Hess 3 groundballs; Jack Cerhan 1 assist, 1 takeaway, 6 groundballs; Michael Fix 5 goals, 2 assists, 1 groundball; Max Jorde 2 groundballs; Craig Jeffrey 2 goals, 1 groundball. Goalie: Troy Penz 80 percent saves.
