The NC varsity boys lacrosse team (7-0) won 14-13 against the Marietta High School Blue Devils (4-3) Wednesday, March 5. Almost halfway through their season, the Warriors continue to proceed with only success after winning their past seven games. Bearing through the heavy wind, family and friends bundled up in the stands, supporting both teams and creating a competitive atmosphere.
At the beginning of the first quarter, the Blue Devils scored the first point, causing panic within the NC crowd. Luckily, after a timeout called by Marietta, the Warriors huddled up and head coach Kyle Van Kauwenberg (VK) encouraged patience within his players. With this advice, the Warriors began playing their A-game when junior attacker and midfielder Nathaniel Awojabo (21) scored their first point of the night.
While the Blue Devils prevailed with an impressive defensive team, the NC coaches inspired their players, yelling out several plays and continuing to propose patience throughout the night. Senior midfielder Zach Afalla (3) scored the second goal of the night, leading to the end of the first quarter. After a two-minute break for the crowd to buy hot chocolate, Afalla scored again, bringing the score to 3-1 at the beginning of the second quarter.
With numerous blocks from NC’s defense, the game felt everlasting due to the fluctuating score and constant one-upping of each team. Within the second quarter, senior attackman Andrew LaPierre (15), junior attacker and midfielder Sean Lineweaver (7) and magnet senior midfielder Carter Sams (16) all scored, curating the 7-5 score before halftime.
“When the score was tied and it kept fluctuating all I felt was adrenaline rushing through my body. All I was thinking was that all our hard work during fall and summer was going to pay off in this gritty game and it did. The win against Marietta really gave the team a heads up that we are a team that isn’t going to give up in the tough games and we are going to fight through adversity as a team and brotherhood,” Afalla said.
Beginning the third quarter with the Warriors in the lead, Coach VK alongside the assistant coaches prepared the players with a motivational talk. Almost instantly upon beginning the quarter, Marietta scored two back-to-back points, tying the game 7-7 and allowing a keen competition for the Warriors. As the rain completely subsided, players on the sidelines attempted to warm up by stretching, jumping and cheering for their actively playing teammates.
As the Blue Devils held a powerful defense, the Warriors attempted to break through and score, listening to the plays called out by fellow teammates and coaches. Towards the middle of the third quarter, a mundane period endured as each team tried to navigate their way to the net. After a steady possession of the ball from the Warriors, the Blue Devils finally managed to steal the ball from an NC fumble — but as they ran across the field NC executed flawless passes and resulted in LaPierre scoring a goal.
Shortly after, with the score at 8-7 and the Warriors in the lead, Afalla implemented a save that allowed Sams to score. Continuing the back-and-forth manner of the game, Marietta quickly scored two goals and tied the game 9-9 at the end of the third quarter.
Kicking off the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils scored, causing the intensity of the match to increase. Combatting that score, LaPierre scored, tying the game — again — 10-10. Within two minutes and 7:50 minutes left in the game, Marietta scored two goals and fired up competitive attitudes from both sides. The crowd watching in anticipation, and a score 10-12 with the Blue Devils in the lead, Afalla scored yet again. With another back-and-forth score from Marietta and a fierce rebuttal from the Warriors, the score totaled to a tie at 13-13. As senior defensive midfielder Cameron Morris (12) performed an impressive run across the field, LaPierre, Afalla, Sams, Awojabo, sophomore attacker and midfielder Luke Winters (14) and magnet junior attacker and midfielder Khalil Fite (27) put up an impressive defensive formation.
As the ball moved back and forth, and with only 32 seconds left on the clock, the Warriors called a timeout to set up a game plan. As the quarter ended and the teams remained in a tie, the game went into four minutes of overtime. As Winters managed to keep possession of the ball even with tough circumstances, Fite lined up the perfect shot for the winning score, bringing the final score to 14-13: a Warrior win.
“The most exciting part had to be when Khalil [Fite] hit the game-winner and we knew it was over. My feelings about the scoring back and forth were no matter what, I knew it was probably going to come down to the wire and I knew we would come out on top. I think the win is going to carry some momentum for the rest of the season. It means a lot because we lost to them last year by a small amount so it was good to get it back. Our star player had to be Zach [Afalla], he was scoring on offense and when we needed him to face off he did that too,” Sams said.
