Millard South Shuts Out Papillion La Vista in OMALAX Opener

By Robert Molinelli
WSL Nebraska Correspondent

OMAHA, Neb. — Senior middie Caleb Theimer scored two goals to lead Millard South to a 4-0 victory over Papillion La Vista in an Omaha Metro Area Lacrosse League game Wednesday night.
Sophomore middie John Marinkovich scored a goal and dished an assist, and senior middie Alex VanZee scored once to lead the Patriots (1-0) to a victory in their season opener.
Millard South overcame a saturated playing field and 40-degree weather on its way to the win. The poor conditions made it difficult for either team to get into an offensive flow, but the Patriots capitalized with a goal in every quarter thanks to strong and accurate bounce shots. Theimer rifled both of his shots off the ground and into the back of the net from 15 yards out.
On the other side of the ball, the Patriots’ defense handed Papillion La Vista its first shutout loss in the program’s history.
“It was a good, hard-fought game between both of us,” Theimer said. “It was a bad field, and it got pretty sloppy at times, but we pulled it together and played some good defense too.”
In a losing effort, freshmen goalie Travis Tlustos saved 14 shots for the Monarchs (0-1), who lost their season opener. Tlustos, a converted hockey goalie, kept Papillion La Vista alive with save after save. But despite his stellar performance between the pipes, the Monarchs could not generate any offense.
“It was a good effort for our first game,” Tlustos said. “We’ll just try and bounce back next week.”