When David Little finished off a feed from Joe Miller to knot the game with a minute left, Woodberry Forest appeared to seize the momentum of a seesaw battle with Collegiate.
But momentum is, obviously, fleeting, and Friday it disappeared with the flick of Dyson White’s stick, the Vermont-bound attackman’s lone goal of the day that came seconds into overtime and wrapped up a 7-6 Collegiate win over the Tigers.
“We did some things early in the game and at the end of the game that hurt us,” said Woodberry coach Brian Hemming. “It’s part of the season, you learn from it and you move on.”
Big-time performances from Collegiate goalie David Noftsinger and Woodberry keeper Ben Pugh highlighted the defensive struggle. Noftsinger, a Delaware-bound senior, came up with 12 saves for the Cougars, but Pugh a sophomore, matched him more than stop-for-stop, tallying 15 saves on the day. Pugh came up with two straight point-blank stops near the six minute mark of the third quarter in an incredible sequence. The back-to-back saves kept Woodberry even with Collegiate at 3-3, the score at the half.
“He played so great today — that kids a sophomore and he’s really good,” Hemming said. “He’s got a lot of great lacrosse left in him hear at Woodberry.”
Carlson Milikin and Mark Monroe finished with two goals each on the day, with Milikin scoring the game’s lone third-quarter goal to break a halftime deadlock. That third quarter score gave Woodberry a 4-3 advantage.
Will Tucker also scored for the Tigers, finishing off another Miller assist in the fourth quarter to put Woodberry up 5-3. Miller’s flip to Tucker on the play was spectacular as the hit he absorbed on the pass left him sprawled on the field. Tucker made it count with the ensuing shot.
But Collegiate rallied after that, scoring three straight to jump ahead 6-5 on a Wilson Speight score. After Little’s goal tied the game again, Woodberry had one chance to score again late but a turnover at midfield set the stage for overtime and Holly’s
