Katie Goodwin is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Notre Dame Preparatory High School for AZPreps365.com.

SCOTTSDALE – The Notre Dame Prep boys golf team lost to Brophy Prep in their home match Thursday at Troon Golf Club on the Pinnacle course with Desert Vista High School placing third.

Brophy Prep and Desert Vista are Division One schools.

After experiencing their first match loss of the season by one stroke to Chaparral High School and a poor finish at the Dobson Classic last week, Notre Dame Prep looked to bounce back.

Unfortunately, the Saints came up five strokes short.

Brophy Prep's Dylan Boenning was the low score for the match with an even round of 35.

Freshman Xander Mulder from Notre Dame shot the low score from the Saints with a 2-over 37.

As a team, Notre Dame shot 151 (11-over par), with Brophy Prep walking away with the victory and a score of 145 (6-over par).

Desert Vista came in third with a team total of 163 (23-over par).

“I felt good out there,” Saints junior Daniel Rowe said on his round of 3-over par 38. “I had a slow start but put some putts together.”

Notre Dame junior Dylan Wolfe also shot a 38.

“I felt ok with my round,” Wolfe said. “I started alright but had two three putts. All my strokes came around the green.”

Sophomore Fin Vander Ark found himself 3-over through his first hole with a triple bogey to open his day, but it didn’t kill his spirits.

He played the rest of his round even par and finished with a 38. His round would be the fourth and final score to the team total.

Freshman Landon Ashcraft’s 4-over 39 did not count toward the team total as he had the highest of the five-player scores.

Despite shooting the low team total, Brophy Prep did not play its top players.

Ranked atop the AIA golf rankings, Brophy Prep treated this match as a qualifying round for the last few spots on the starting five for its next events.

Troon is desert golf at its finest with very little green grass. Players have to ensure they hit it straight on the narrow fairways to secure a decent score.

“There were quite a few balls in the desert,” Notre Dame Prep head coach Scott Watkins commented on the course. “You hit it off the grass and it’s not fun. Out here the green is good, and the brown is bad.”

The Saints touched on how they need to work on keeping it out of the dessert areas to improve their scores. With many courses in Arizona having similar layouts, this will be one of their main focuses for the next month before the state championship.

“I need to work on the misses off the tee,” Rowe said. “And going in the desert is something I need to improve.”

The Saints will play in The Peaks Invitational Oct. 7 at Continental Country Club in Flagstaff.

Hosted by Sandra Day O’Connor High School, the tournament will have 20 teams from around the state.