CLEVELAND, OH - The Lacrosse Wildcats entered Tuesday night coming off a 13-4 victory over the cross-town rivals in the St. Edward Eagles. They would host SPIRE Academy from Krenzler Field for Senior Night, which had seeding implications for the MSLA Tournament coming up this weekend.
SPIRE would jump out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period. But the Wildcats would come back firing on all cylinders as Will French got the Cats on the board after a smooth pass from Michael McManamon. One of the best Face-Off Specialist's in the state, Jacob Roubic, would get the possession right back to the Wildcats, and his younger brother Colin would tie the game at two shortly after.
In the second period, the Wildcats and SPIRE would go back and forth, but the highlight of the quarter came in the closing seconds of the half. With 20 seconds on the clock, the Wildcats committed a violation. Senior Freddy Webster was caught yards away from the net and retreated back as SPIRE had two attackers move toward the net. Webster blocked the first shot, and off the ricochet, SPIRE had one more chance; Ivan Gayoso attempted a behind-the-back shot, but Webster made another incredible save, and the Wildcats maintained a 6-5 advantage at the break.
SPIRE would take a 9-7 advantage midway through the third period, but again, the Wildcats fought back with goals from Colin Roubic and McManamon. Tied at nine, a lightning storm rolled through Downtown Cleveland, sending both teams into the locker room.
After a delay that lasted more than an hour and a half, the Wildcats and SPIRE resumed play around 10 p.m. with 40 tics in the third period.
The delay didn't slow the Wildcats' offensive attack. To begin the fourth period, senior captain Bryce Allen broke the tie with a goal. SPIRE immediately answered and tied the game at 10. But McManamon came alive, scoring two back-to-back goals to give the Cats a 12-10 lead with five minutes remaining in regulation.
Junior Henry Ferguson would ice the game with just over a minute remaining to make it 13-11, which would be the final.
The Wildcats enter MSLA Tournament weekend in the A-Bracket after winning and remaining undefeated in conference play (6-0). They are the third-ranked team and will face Western Reserve Academy at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 2, at WRA. Culver Military Academy (IN) and Everest (ONT) are on the other side of the bracket. The Championship game will come on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., and the consolation game will be at 10 a.m. from WRA.
