Things looked great for Monticello’s boys lacrosse team until…well, they didn’t.
That’s when Albemarle went on a fourth quarter tear to rally from a four-goal deficit at the start of that frame to win 9-8 over the Mustangs and complete a rally from down 7-2 during the third quarter.
“They just fought,” said Albemarle coach Greg Crow. “I told them at halftime I wasn’t calling timeout unless they got even — that they had to dig themselves out. And for whatever reason, this team just keeps on ticking.”
The Patriots trailed 7-3 at the start of the fourth and after the teams traded goals early in the quarter, Albemarle got locked in. Zach Willis pulled the Patriots within two goals at 8-6 and then Brendan Reece and Justin Moran brought Albemarle even with Monticello. That set the stage for Nick Pegg to complete his hat trick with the gamewinning goal with 2:36 to play. It was Albemarle’s first lead of the game since the 5:58 mark in the first quarter.
“Pegg is huge,” Crow said. “He’s a dominant middie playing a role. And he’s actually better when he’s (being guarded by the LSM) and so we try and get him (against) the pole. It’s counter-intuitive, but that’s what we look for.”
Monticello got several chances to tie the game in the final minute and a half, but the Mustangs couldn’t breakthrough, with a last gasp by Michael Darby sailing high and to the right of the cage after a frantic sprint from midfield as time expired. Monticello controlled the tempo for the majority of the game, but couldn’t slow down Albemalre’s momentum when the Patriots got rolling. The Mustangs’ early momentum that helped them build a 5-2 lead at the break.
“We came out with a lot of intensity and a lot of fire and I think we realized tonight that that’s what its really got to be for four quarters,” said Monticello coach Matt Hicks. “When you’re up on a team that is that good, you’ve got to know when to just drive it in.”
Chase Phillips led the way offensively for the Mustangs with three goals and an assist while brother Brodie Phillips had two goals and two assists. Williams Snipes had a pair of assists for the Mustangs while Pierce English and Tyler Wagner both notched goals.
Matt Crist had a big hand in the comeback for Albemarle, dishing out three assists and scoring a goal of his own while picking up four ground balls. Hunter Brown had two assists to round out the offensive effort. Kevin Bernardino picked up four ground balls on the night. Mitch Huber and Cameron Green also had goals for the Patriots. Ian Davis also had an assist that helped early in the fourth that helped kickstart the comeback.
