Friday evening at Highlander Stadium the Highland Park Scots fell just short of an epic comeback against the National West Coast powerhouse, the Torrey Pines Falcons, losing 12-11 in a top tier interstate contest. The StickStarReport was a little late on the scene so we couldn't collect all of our usual stats as we had to put the kids down! Thankfully it was an 8pm start time or we would have missed what was an excellent performance by both squads, and a thrilling 2nd half.
To set the stage, when we stepped into the Stadium the score was pretty lopsided as TP was up 8-2, but by half time the score was 9-7 as the Scots stormed back through a tremendous individual effort by sophomore attackman, Parker Addison. Out of the 5 goals HP scored from when we arrived to the half Addison had a hat trick, single-handedly keeping the Scots in it.
Whenever you're in a game of runs, the next bucket is absolutely massive and TP was able to score the first two on the other side of the half. Their first below was on a tremendous individual effort to beat the 10 man. While Torrey Pines was tested / pressed they played with incredible composure. They were patient, never pressed, and always looked calm under the consistent pressure HP was applying. It was very impressive, but not surprising as the system and culture Head Coach Jono Zissi has instilled over at TP is really enjoyable to watch. Congrats on your 200th win at TP Coach!
This was our first look at the Highland Park Scots under new management and at first glance we can see a tremendous difference in effort, attention to detail, and schematic execution. The players are playing very hard and against quality talent. With Ben Abel in goal and a cast of quality players the Scots now occupy a different role than they have in previous years, that of the underdog. Don't be mistaken however, HP has talent bursting out of the cupboard. While each class added tremendous value the 2025 class at HP is quite strong and will be a foundation the Scots will look to build upon for their next "Golden Age".
While Torrey Pines pushed the lead back to 4, the Scots were never out of it and kept fighting. The Scots went on a three goal run, TP answered again to push it to 2. The last bucket for HP was pure class as Ben Abel made a tough save and then a beautiful outlet in transition sparking a Harris Sands goal at the other end. HP had a chance to tie on a set look out of a timeout but ultimately they were unable to as the Torrey Pines tendy made another clutch save. One of his many quality saves on the day.
Again, the quality at Torrey Pines is pretty incredible as their athleticism, specifically at the midfield is pretty overwhelming. Whether it is clearing the ball, or playing quality short stick defense, the guys in between the lines made a significant impact on the outcome of this matchup. Something we have seen for years at HP.
Content is really starting to heat up as the 2nd half of the season is coming fast and furious down the home stretch. StickStar will have you covered every step of the way. We have a massive shake up in the Tuesday Top 5 that we will release later this afternoon as The Woodlands secured a massive win over our previously ranked #2 the Southlake Dragons. Also, ESD posted another quality win against Jesuit, so the rankings will look a little different after this week!
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