With a pair of quick goals from Jared Arntzen and then Andrew Risse to start the fourth quarter, all the momentum was on Blue Ridge’s side with the game suddenly deadlocked at 7-7.
But St. Anne’s-Belfield’s defense and keeper Colin Bressan rose to the occasion. That effort made sure a Dylan Park fourth quarter goal was enough for No. 4-ranked STAB to hold off No. 8-ranked Blue Ridge 8-7 in a VISAA clash Tuesday afternoon.
“They’re a talented team, they’ve got incredible stick skills,” Park said. “We really just needed to take a deep breath. I think we had to take a step back from it all because they’re moving so fast and we just had to play our game.”
Park and fellow senior Calvin Satterfield posted a pair of goals and an assist each from the midfield while attackman Miles Davis posted a hat trick. That trio scored enough to offset an unusually slow night from Ian Robertson, the Saints’ senior who has been pouring it in of late. With Blue Ridge intent on containing Robertson, the Saints were able to run Park from behind the goal on some invert situations and drive from the top with midfielders like Satterfield.
“You look to your seniors on a day like today and having Calvin and Dylan both have a couple of goals was great for us,” said STAB coach Bo Perriello.
Park also had a solid day defensively with five ground balls to lead the Saints in that category. Shane Palmateer scooped up five ground balls on the night.
But STAB had to fight down to the final seconds after failing to extend the one-goal margin Park’s goal gave STAB.
Blue Ridge got a number of good chances, but STAB’s defense forced a slew of turnovers while junior goalie Colin Bressan made three clutch stops in the final frame as part of a 14-save outing for the Saints’ keeper.
“We kind of fell asleep in that third quarter and then came out and picked it back up in the fourth,” said Blue Ridge coach Kyle Gardner. “We just couldn’t get it to go our way. Our guys fought for 48 minutes, but we can’t have those hiccups where we fall asleep for a few minutes.”
It finally did go STAB’s way in the end, despite a coule of infractions that gave Blue Ridge extra possessions.
“I think we finally found our groove near the end,” Park said.
The Saints will need that groove for the rest of this week. A murderous schedule — the Saints have played three games for six-straight week — continues Friday against St. Christopher’s and on Saturday against Durham Academy.
