EVERETT — After allowing three goals in the first four minutes and 19 seconds of Wednesday’s Wesco/Northwest Division boys lacrosse game between Everett and Kamiak, it looked like it could be a long night for Kamiak goalkeeper Joseph Prikhodko.
It turned out to be a long night for Everett.
Prikhodko, a freshman at Kamiak High School, not only recovered from allowing the early goals, but was nearly perfect for the remainder of his team’s 16-4 victory.
“For a freshman to step into the cage and perform the way that he does is kind of unreal,” fourth-year Kamiak head coach Michael Harlow said. “The leadership capabilities that he has are kind of unmatched for a freshman — not just the way he commands the defense, but he stays calm when we’re down three goals and is able to take the game over.”
Prikhodko finished the game with 20 saves, 17 of which came in the first three quarters. After giving up Everett’s first three goals, Prikhodko and the Kamiak defense held Everett scoreless for 25 minutes and 34 seconds of actual game time.
“We feed off of his saves,” Harlow said. “A lot of the saves that he makes are highlight reels, but that’s what we see every day.”
It was a slow start for Kamiak (6-0 league, 8-0 overall), which came into the game undefeated and ranked seventh in the state according to www.laxpower.com. All it took to right the ship was going back to what got it to that position to begin with.
“We were trying something new on defense and it wasn’t working,” Harlow said. “When we switched to our normal defense, it was just how we wanted to play and it worked out.”
Everett (5-1, 7-2) entered the game ranked sixth in the state.
Kamiak’s win moves it ahead of Everett in the standings, but Sehome-Bellingham and Stanwood still have perfect league records and are in the mix for a conference championship.
“Pulling ahead of the pack is always a good thing, but we’ve always got our goal in mind of winning this conference and moving on and going deep into the playoffs,” Harlow said.
Even after the Kamiak defense turned things around, it took its offense a while to get going.
Tyler Keele scored Kamiak’s firsts goal with one second to go in the first quarter beating Everett goalkeeper Brad Strong on a breakaway. It was the first of eight unanswered goals by Kamiak.
“That motivated us,” Harlow said. “That was just a hustle play. It showed us that if we just hustled the whole game we would be able to work what we normally have and that’s how it turned out.”
Keele led the way for Kamiak offensively, finishing the game with six goals and one assist.
“He creates a lot of the offense and moves the ball very well and sees the field,” Harlow said.
Many of Keele’s goals came in transition, something Harlow said is aided by Prikhodko in goal.
“He’s takes command of the defense,” Harlow said of Prikhodko. “He’s so quick on his feet and sees the field really well. What really helps us also is our transition game. He’s able to clear (the ball) and put it on a dime to help us out in transition.”
Prikhodko and Keele put the exclamation point on the victory with one of those transition goals with 5:09 remaining in the game. Prikhodko picked up a rare goalie assist with a long pass to Keele, who beat the Everett goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation in front of the goal.
“I was just scrambling and in my head I thought the clock to get it over (midfield) was going to run out, so I just saw Tyler and threw it to him and hoped for the best,” Prikhodko said of the play.
As great as that play was, it was Prikhodko’s 20 saves that turned a potential disaster into a resounding victory. Prikhodko said he knew his team needed a great effort when it trailed by three goals and he turned out to be just the person to provide it.
“I feel like I’m the leader of the defense, so most of the pressure is on me,” Prikhodko said.
“I like that pressure.”
At Kasch Park
Kamiak 1 5 5 5 — 16
Everett 3 0 1 0 — 4
Kamiak—Tyler Keele 6 goals, 1 assist; Alex Indelicato 4 goals; Jackson Finnerty 1 goal; Steele Fosth 2 goals; Miles Craggs 1 goal, 2 assists; Andrey Prikhodko 1 goal; Ben Barton 1 goal; Joseph Prikhodko 20 saves, 1 assist. Everett—Luke Rodgers 1 goal; Justin Beretta 1 goal, 1 assist; Brad Borders 1 goal; Nathan Hanold 1 goal; Sean Hess 1 assist. Records—Kamiak 6-0 league, 8-0 overall. Everett 5-1, 7-2.
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