Cats defend turf, advance to championship

Funny the difference a year can make for a program. On Tuesday night the Wildcats avenged last season’s loss at Apex that ended a then unblemished Wildcat record. Both teams entered the game with high expectations as collectively the programs had registered only three losses during the 2011 campaign. The Wildcats made a number of adjustments going into the game which resulted in strong defensive and offensive performances.

The game began with a Steven Augustine faceoff win, yet the Wildcats rushed their offensive set and the Apex keeper shut down a Ryan Lucey shot. Apex would go the distance and hit the first goal of the game. It would take another Augustine faceoff win and then a patient offensive stand to knot the score at one, as Ryan Lucey hit Leo Moran on the doorstep. Less than a minute later, Augustine would win another faceoff and bring the ball to the defensive end. Sophomore attackman Jackson Boyer would then find sophomore Ryan Dotson cutting to the crease, and the elusive Dotson stuck a hard shot in the upper ninety. After an East penalty, Apex scored and extra man goal to tie the game at two.

 

In the second quarter, Lucey noticed an open Chandler Zirkle on the crease. Zirkle froze the Apex goalie and beat him low for the goal. Apex responded with another goal. Midway through the second, Leo Moran hit Lucey with a pass. Lucey placed the shot past the Apex Keeper to take another East lead. Apex rolled back with another goal.

With under 5:00 minutes remaining in the half, East started a streak. Jackson Boyer beat his defender at X and unleashed a blast past the Apex keeper. Two minutes later, Lucey would be the recipient of another Moran assist. With less than a minute remaining and nursing a two goal lead, Sophomore Baxter Perkins took a Lucey no-look pass and converted it into another East goal.

The Cats took a 7-4 advantage into the second half. The Wildcat defense stood tall, with Senior Collin Elledge locking down his opponents and scooping up ground balls. Sophomores Dylan Shaw, William McEntee, and Bryce McCulloch all played inspired defense after the last game where the team yielded over ten goals. Junior Levi Brown ended the night with 14 saves, several coming at key junctures where the Cougars appeared to have beaten the East defense, only to find rejection from #3 in white. The wave of defensive midfielders included John Ramer, Ben Krichman, and Cory Dotson.

The second half began with an Apex goal after East threw away a possession. Late in the third, Baxter Perkins again beat the Apex goalie on an assist from Ryan Dotson. Less than a minute later Zirkle would hit Perkins again on an EMO opportunity. Perkins made several fakes and dropped the shot behind the outstretched keeper. To begin the fourth quarter, the Cats enjoyed a lead but relied further upon Augustine to control the faceoff x.  With less than ten minutes remaining, the Cats extended the lead to 10-5 when Perkins scored his fourth and final goal, again off a Lucey assist (Lucey would finish the game as the high scorer with four assists and two goals).

Apex came storming back with a transition goal, and several minutes later forced an East turnover on offense and converted another goal. With the score now 10-7, Apex appeared to be mounting a comeback. Augustine would have none of this! He won the faceoff, took the ball down into the offensive end and the Cats would take time to attack the goal from a spread formation. At the opportune time of 1:12, Augustine realized he had an open path to the goal, once he sprinted past the outstretched Cougar defenders. He hit the 11th goal and went back to the faceoff.  With less than a minute remaining, he won again for his 17th win and took the ball into the restraining box. Once again, he noticed a seam and took the ball past the overextended defense. With a quick hitch and jump, the ball rested peacefully in the back of the black nylon. The Cats watched as the clock wound down and ran out to Brown to celebrate a Saturday trip to Cary and Wake Med Stadium.

“We had a remarkably good feel going into this game. We threw a few wrinkles and our guys executed well. We have tried to bring this team along so that they will play their best lacrosse at the end of the season. We still have an opportunity to play a full 48 minutes of East Lacrosse,” noted East’s Coach Z after the win.  “Give credit to the seniors, a couple of juniors, and our sophomores, they all stepped up big tonight. Ryan and Steven elevated their games, you could tell before the game that this group had a mission.”

With the win, East moves to 18-2 on the season and returns to the State Finals for the first time since 2006.  The Cats will face the Northwest Guilford Vikings from Greensboro in the season finale.  For this group of Cats, there is still some unfinished business.