The boys lacrosse team lost in the CCS Division II finals to the Stevenson Pirates 8-7 in an intense match on Saturday afternoon.
Stevenson won the faceoff to start the game, but M-A quickly picked up possession off a penalty on the Pirates. The Bears immediately set the tempo of the game, patiently rotating the ball around the Stevenson goal, waiting for an opportunity. Despite this, M-A was unable to find any openings, and the Pirates regained control before firing the first shot of the game wide, with 6:24 left in the first. The Bears temporarily halted Stevenson’s momentum with a swift steal by freshman defender Dylan Kryger to put M-A on offense.
However, the Pirates continued to battle in search of a goal. Stevenson fired a well-placed shot into the top corner, but senior goalkeeper Caden Kadivar made a miraculous save to deny the Pirates and keep the game level at 0-0. Still, Stevenson broke through just a minute later with a goal to put the Pirates at a 1-0 advantage with 3:07 on the clock. Stevenson found the net again shortly after to end the quarter with the Pirates up 2-0.
Stevenson won the faceoff to begin the second quarter, but junior defender Will Clark got a quick steal to put the Bears on the attack. Junior midfielder Zachary Sokol beat his defender with a shifty move before firing a shot that went just wide. M-A continued their momentum as junior midfielder Sam Huddleston drilled a low-driven shot into the net to give the Bears their first goal three minutes into the second quarter, 2-1.
“On the defensive side of the ball, I feel like we played physical from the first quarter to the fourth quarter, and we communicated,” senior defender Matthew Kwon said.
With six minutes left in the second, Stevenson scored again off a counterattack to put M-A further behind, 3-1. The Bears found their response just 30 seconds later with a bouncing shot from Sokol to cut the Bears’ deficit to 3-2. The Pirates did not allow M-A to capitalize on momentum, winning the faceoff and immediately scoring a goal of their own. M-A created promising looks on goal late, but they couldn’t convert, and the second quarter ended with Stevenson holding a 4-2 lead.
The Pirates won the faceoff to start the third quarter, but the Bears’ defense refused to relent. Kadivar jumped out of his goal to stifle a close-range attempt from Stevenson and prevent them from extending their advantage. Sokol built on this, sending a shot past the Pirates’ goalkeeper to bring the Bears closer, 4-3, with 6:29 on the clock.
The faceoff was a hard-fought scramble, but Clark came up with the ball for M-A. Sokol drove past his defender from behind the goal and launched a shot in to give the Bears a crucial game-tying goal, 4-4 with 5:21 in the third. The Pirates quickly responded with a goal of their own, putting them back up 5-4. Still, Kadivar stayed composed, making a heroic diving save to deny Stevenson with two minutes remaining, and the third quarter concluded with the Bears trailing 5-4.
The Pirates gained possession off an aggressive faceoff to start the final quarter, finding the back of the net just a minute in to make it 6-4. The game remained tight with both teams fighting for the ball. Sokol was soon able to score again, marking his fourth goal of the game and bringing M-A back within one, 6-5.
Neither team slowed down as Stevenson scored another goal to bring the score to 7-5 with 9:11 remaining in the game. The Bears tried to find an answer, winning possession and passing the ball around in search of a vital goal. Junior midfielder Will Torre received the ball and snapped a quick shot into the bottom corner to bring the game into reach at 7-6 with six minutes on the clock.
Using this momentum, senior attacker Carey Wolf nailed a long-range shot into the roof of the net to tie the game 7-7 with less than five minutes left in the game.
“I think we never left the fight, we never gave up, and rolled over for the other team. We’re always in it, like two goals is nothing, at halftime, and we’re like we can come back from this. We’re just confident in ourselves and our ability to play the game,” Wolf said.
The game remained back and forth, but neither team broke through. M-A passed the ball around looking for an opening, but they turned the ball over with a missed pass with only 26 seconds remaining. Despite this, disciplined defense by Wolf prevented the Pirates from getting a shot, forcing the game into overtime tied 7-7.
“We fought hard the entire time. Every time, it felt like they might be pulling away. I think we clawed back. There was never a moment where we weren’t in the fight. We fought the entire game, and I’m so proud of how we played,” Torre said.
The Bears started overtime down a man because of a penalty. Still, senior defender Matthew Kwon played hard defense and managed to get M-A possession. However, he was called for a foul, and M-A now had two fewer players. Stevenson managed to capitalize on this advantage with a scrappy goal a minute into overtime, winning the game 8-7.
“I think the way we’ve responded to adversity [this season], we didn’t start out great. Even within the team, there was conflict the whole way, but the way we grew together and the way we responded and made it this far. I think there’s something to be proud of,” Torre said.
This concludes the season for the Bears.
