Neither team has been on the same field in at least two years — a thunderstorm prevented last season’s meeting — but it was worth the wait as a lacrosse rivalry may have blossomed Wednesday between two schools that are bitter football rivals.
St. Anne’s-Belfield needed overtime to dispatch Blue Ridge, 16-15, on a Dylan Park goal with just 37.5 seconds left in the extra period.
“I love that kid, he came through in the clutch,” said STAB attackman Andrew Crockett. “He just had a great game — (it was) a great game for the entire team.”
Park uncorked the winner, but it was a battle for the Saints just to get to overtime. Blue Ridge appeared to seal a win with a late goal by Tanner Fisher that put the Barons up 16-14 with just over two minutes left on the clock, but an illegal stick infraction wiped the goal and gave STAB life.
Blue Ridge’s Andrew Wilson followed that bit of drama with a critical save in the cage and hit Garrett Chan on a long outlet, allowing the Barons to take another minute off the clock. But St. Anne’s gained possession again, setting up Connor McCullough’s game-tying laser with just 17 seconds left to play.
The teams traded possessions in overtime before Park, who finished with a hat trick and two assists, came up with the winner late, unleashing a dog pile celebration by the Saints — a relief in game where STAB took a big lead only to watch it slip away.
Crockett fueled a 10-3 first half lead for the Saints, pouring in five of his eight total goals before the break, including a stretch where the Georgetown-bound senior notched four goals in a 7-0 St. Anne’s run, capped by a slick Sam Craighill pass to Miles Davis for another score. Crockett was the offensive engine though, creating his own shot and finishing off feeds throughout what appeared at first to be decisive run by the Saints. The hyper-competitive Crockett thrives in games where the intensity level moves up a notch, and it was certainly ratcheted up with the Barons riding onto STAB’s home field with an 11-1 record.
“He’s been a great leader for us this year — he gets us the tough ground ball, the tough goal when we need it,” said St. Anne’s coach Bo Perriello. “He’s really worked at keeping his head out there and for the most part he’s been able to do that.”
But it was a lack of restraint by the Saints that opened the door for a Blue Ridge rally from that seven-goal deficit. St. Anne’s committed a series of critical infractions late in the first half that allowed the Barons to reel off a 3-1 spurt of their own and enter the half down just 10-5. In the second half, STAB unraveled as the Barons’ speedy offensive standouts, led by Canadian import Chan’s five second half goals (seven total), exploded.
“It’s been a theme for us this year — when we foul we play poorly,” Perriello said. “We go from in pretty good control to about four penalties in about the last five minutes of the half, give up a 3-1 run for them and create opportunities.”
Blue Ridge flashed an ability to bounce back from a dismal start that the Barons haven’t faced all season, capitalizing on STAB’s mistakes to eventually grab a 15-13 second half lead. Chan got offensive help from Fisher’s four-goal, one-assist night and Tyler Pace’s two-goal, three-assist outing.
“They definitely smacked us in the mouth right out of the gate which hasn’t happened to us out of the gate,” said Blue Ridge coach Nic Bell. “That was definitely something to fight through and get over. We had a lot of good individual performances to get us back in it, but it’s just kind of frustrating (to lose after that rally).”
The down-to-the-wire contest was a clear step forward for a Blue Ridge program that’s made significant strides under Bell. While an upset would have had a seismic impact on the Division I state lacrosse world, the nature of the game should make the playoffs and the closing stretch of the season an eventful one for both squads.
Davis was STAB’s other big offensive threat, tallying three goals and a pair of assists.
The Barons get more than a week off now as they’ll take on John Paul the Great next Thursday, but the Saints have to reset and battle St. Christopher’s today in Richmond.
