Plenty of shots flew at both ends of Larry Mulvaney Field Thursday as Christian Brothers Academy and Schenectady waged a back-and-forth Big 10 lacrosse battle for four quarters.
CBA goal-scoring leader Zach Baron was held without a shot during regulation.
“They had been locking me off the whole game,” Baron said. “I finlly found a seam, got a great feed and put it away.”
Carter Sherman forced overtime with 18 seconds left, and Baron made good on his only shot 28 seconds into the extra session to give the Brothers a 15-14 victory, and a leg up in the league title race they’ve won seven times in a row.
“The way it ended, it stings, it hurts,” said Schenectady coach Dave Trahan, who was looking to guide the Patriots to their first win over the Brothers since 2002. “We did everything we could to put ourselves in a position to win.”
Schenectady scored three unanswered goals, including an outside blast by Tim Cox with 2:32 left to to go up, 14-13. The goals by Sherman and Baron capped a superb clash, and propelled the Brothers (5-0, 8-5) to their 18th consecutive triumph over the Patriots (5-1, 11-3).
“They did a real good job of fighting back. So did we,” said Baron, a senior attackman. “We were trading goals. It was a great game.”
The teams were tied eight times, and combined for nine goals in the first and third quarters. In the last period, they cut loose for eight scores.
“A bunch of us go both ways. A lot of heart kept our engine going,” said Cox, a senior midfielder who collected six goals and three assists. “Hats off to them, but hats off to us, too.”
Pat Risler had four goals and an assist for CBA, John Bassett pumped in four goals and Baron assisted three times before his low, game-winning drive from five yards out that eluded Louis Cafariella.
“Zach has been a huge part of our offense this year,” CBA coach Tim Vivian said. “They did a good job of taking him away. He finally got a good look.”
Mike Czub had three goals and two assists for Schenectady, and Sam Hartz and Russell Molnar both scored two goals. Goals by Czub and Molnar tied the contest at 13-13 before Cox produced his Section II-leading 62nd goal, and third tally of the fourth quarter.
“He proved to me he’s a very good player, and he should have a bright future in Division I lacrosse,” Vivian said of Cox, who is headed to the University at Albany. “He can dodge, and he’s a workhorse.”
Sherman tied the game on a strong run and rip with CBA a man down, and Cam Fisher won the center draw and Torey Williams scooped the ball to begin overtime. Following a CBA timeout and a high shot that sailed out of bounds by Sherman, Baron scored his 28th goal after taking a quick feed from Risler.
Baron had been an overtime hero once before, with his goal in double overtime giving CBA a non-league win over Holy Trinity in 2009.
“We had a breakdown at the end,” said Trahan. “That was a tough point in the game for the kids.”
Schenectady trailed after the first quarter, 6-3, and was down, 12-9, after a goal by Risler 21 seconds into the fourth quarter. Cox scored two straight goals, and Williams answered 10 seconds later to give the Brothers a 13-11 edge, before the Pats rallied.
“A lot of our kids really bore down and played as well as the could,” said Trahan. “In the fourth quarter we possessed the ball well and put the ball in the goal.”
“This was a big game for them. I knew it would be a battle,” said Vivian. “It’ll be another battle when they come to our place next week.”
Cafariella made 16 saves, some of them outstanding, in defeat.
“He made some huge stops,” Trahan said of the junior netminder, who made 11 saves in the second half. “He stepped up and played well. He had to.”
Cox and Hartz, who upped his goal total to 58, are in line to become the all-time single-season goal scorers at Schenectady. Dan Flora totaled a school-record 64 goals during the 2009 season, Aaron Lupo scored 63 goals in 2007, and Pat Meade had 63 goals in 2001 and 2002.
CBA 6 0 5 3 1 — 15
Schenectady 3 2 4 5 0 — 14
CBA scoring: Cameron Fisher 1-2, Pat Risler 4-1, Sean Behrmann 2-0, Andrew Jensen 0-2, John Bassett 4-0, Carter Sherman 2-1, Zach Baron 1-3, Torey Williams 1-0. Schenectady scoring: Tim Cox 6-3, Sam Hartz 2-0, Mike Czub 3-2, Devon Patrick 1-0, Cody Schnepf 0-1, Russell Molnar 2-0.
Goaltenders: CBA, Cody Greenwald, 7 saves; Conor Wacksman, 3 saves. Schenectady, Louis Cafariella, 16 saves.
Categories: -Sports-, High School Sports
