money Granville boys lacrosse regains footing with overtime win against Bexley
GRANVILLE — The first offensive threat of Wednesday’s overtime appeared to go by the wayside for the Granville boys lacrosse team until junior Connor Smith darted toward the net.
Smith intercepted a pass to Bexley’s goaltender, and following his quick pass to classmate Hart Miller in front of net, Miller scored just 42 seconds into overtime, giving the Blue Aces a 7-6 victory against the visiting Lions at Walter J. Hodges Stadium.
“I have to give it all to (Smith). Everyone came and rushed me, but he was the first person I rushed after that goal,” Miller said. “We are going to have ups and downs in our season and adversity, but we are always going to come back and win.”
Granville (8-5) snapped a four-game losing streak. Bexley (6-8) tied the match with just 34 seconds left in regulation, but the Blue Aces had the quick sudden-death strike during the four-minute period, flipping the script from Monday’s 4-3 overtime loss at Olentangy Berlin.
Miller also scored early in the fourth quarter to give Granville 6-5 lead. The difference-making Blue Aces, however, were in the defensive end in front of senior goaltender Luc Kadlic, who nearly blanked the Lions the entire second half after their five-goal outburst in the second quarter.
“I wasn’t having the best game the first half, but I came out the second half making sure I was locking down their offense,” said Kadlic, who had help in the back from classmate Truman Kennedy, junior Leelan Durham and freshman Kyle Kirby. “We realized we had to play our game and play up to our potential.”
Granville jumped out to a 7-1 start, but the schedule toughened just as the injury bug bit the Blue Aces. Included in the skid were tight losses to DeSales and Bishop Watterson and a loss to perennial power Western Reserve Academy in suburban Akron.
The offense has received a boost from juniors Miller, Rhoton and Colt Shaw and senior Matt Chaykowski. Senior Mikey Chaykowski won key face-offs late in Wednesday’s victory.
“We are down three of our star offensive guys, so that makes it tough, but I give it up to the rest of our offensive guys for stepping up and filling those shoes,” Granville coach Bob Higginbotham said.
Home cooking could help Granville regain its momentum. The Blue Aces wrap up the regular season with three consecutive home games next week against Pickerington North on Tuesday, New Albany on May 11 and Columbus Academy on May 13.
The Blue Aces also could receive rematches with DeSales and Watterson down the road in the postseason.
“It definitely feels good to win one especially after a tough loss on Monday against Olentangy Berlin,” Kadlic said. “Our offense really showed out tonight, and we came together as a team.”
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Granville lacrosse regains footing with overtime win against Bexley
