The Clayton boys’ lacrosse team has started the season 4-0, with big wins over Webster Groves, Fox, Wentzville, and Republic.  In starting off the season with a 9-6 win over a much more populous school in Webster Groves, the Hounds showed that they are here to play with the big boys this year.

In the Webster game, the Hounds pounced on the Statesmen early, and led 6-0 after the first quarter.  The Hounds were able to hold on for the 9-6 win thanks to big contributions from senior attack and captain Max Goldfarb who led all scorers with four goals.

On the season Goldfarb has nine goals and three assists, which leaves him fourth on the team in points.

“That Webster game was probably my personal best so far this season,” Goldfarb said.

Following the Webster game, the Hounds had a rematch of the 2008 state title game with the Fox Warriors.  In that game, Fox scored with six seconds left in the first overtime to take home the state title on Washington University’s field.  That game has stuck with many of the Hounds, and the team came out fired on April 6 against the Warriors.

“I was really ready for that game, especially because of what happened against them two years ago,” Goldfarb said.  “It might not have been the state title, but I was still ready to beat them.”

And the Hounds did just that.  The team rolled to a 13-7 win, as junior Josh Goldstein and senior attack Jordan Stern led the way with five goals apiece.  Junior Sam Muslin tacked on two goals and a game-high five assists in the winning cause.

“That was definitely our best team game so far this season because our offense was able to gel against a very strong defensive Fox team,” Stern said.

It couldn’t have come at a better time in many Hounds’ eyes.

The team followed up their victory over Fox with a another win over Wentzville to run their record to 3-0.  In that game, Goldstein had seven goals and Stern added four of his own to lead the Hounds.

The team followed up their third road win with their first home win on April 10 at Gay Field, beating visiting Republic 14-5.  The team led 9-3 at halftime and never looked back.  Goldstein and Stern led the team in goals yet again, tallying five and four respectively.

On the season, Goldstein leads the team in points with 26, but Stern is hot on his heels with 22 points. The team is averaging 13 goals a game, one of the highest marks in the state.

“Our offensive chemistry is really good,” Stern said.

That much is clear with the team returning all of its offensive starters with the exception of star all-everything Terry “Lethal” Ellis, who will be playing Division I lacrosse in the near future.

Five Hounds are already in the double digits for points including Goldstein, Stern, Muslin, Goldfarb, and junior attack Gabe Nicolazzi.  The team has scored 52 goals on the season while allowing just 26 goals against on the season.  At the same time, the team still feels that they have several things left to improve.

“We still need our defense to get a little stronger to help us in the long run,” Goldfarb said.

The long run likely includes a deep playoff run for the Division II Laxers.  Before they can start to think about the playoffs though, they have a tough schedule the rest of the way.

“We’ve got tough games against Ladue and Pembroke Hill that will really tell us a lot about ourselves,” Goldfarb said.

The team takes on the Kansas City based Pembroke Hill on April 14 in Kansas City.  The Ladue game will be a matchup of the top two teams in Missouri Division II high school lacrosse and will be the last game of the season.  The rivalry matchup will be played on Friday, May 14 at 7:30 at Gay Field.

“Everyone should come watch our home games because we will be scoring a lot of goals this season and should be fun to watch,” Stern said.

If the team’s offensive production remains consistent along with newfound decent goaltending by junior Seth Thornton, then the Hounds certainly have a chance to reach their ultimate goal for the season.

“We want to win a state championship, it’s as simple as that and anything less will be a disappointment,” Goldfarb said.