With 7.4 seconds left in the game and the semifinals on the horizon, senior goalie Benjamin Kanter flung the ball to the opposite end of the field, running out the clock to secure the win for GDS. The team stormed the field as the stands erupted in cheers.
After over 15 years without a single Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAC) playoff win, the men’s lacrosse team beat St. Andrew’s Episcopal School 8–7 in the MAC quarterfinal on Monday, May 4.
Due to a concussion from a previous game, junior captain and leading point scorer Ryan Granowitter did not play in the game. (Granowitter is a sports writer for the Bit.)
Senior Benji Gold won the starting faceoff, but St. Andrew’s quickly recovered the ball. After junior Peter McManus regained possession, junior Ahren Sidhu cut around the back of the goal and passed to Gold.
Gold scored with 10:24 left in the first quarter, giving GDS a 1–0 lead. Sidhu scored GDS’ second goal of the game off an assist from freshman Lawson Friedman. In his excitement, Sidhu front flipped on the field as his teammates cheered.
After another quick goal from Gold and the Lions’ first goal of the game, the first quarter ended 3–1.
Despite his injury, Granowitter coached from the sidelines, helping substitute in players and advising plays. Gold, who typically plays defense, filled in for Granowitter. “I switched positions to midfield,” Gold said. “I usually am a pole, so Ryan helped me adjust really quickly.”
Gold won the faceoff to start the second quarter. Although both teams struggled to get points on the board, Sidhu eventually scored with 10:41 left in the quarter. GDS took the lead, 4–1.
In a quick change of possession, St. Andrew’s ran the ball up the field and cut around the back of the goal to score. But after a quick goal from Sidhu, GDS ended the first half with a 5–2 lead.
St. Andrew’s gained possession to start the second half and scored their third goal with 10:05 left in the quarter, bringing the score to 5–3.
GDS played tight defense, not allowing St. Andrew’s players to cut in near the goal. After McManus ran the ball up the field, players crowded around the St. Andrew’s goal until the whistle sounded with 4:15 left in the quarter. A St. Andrew’s player emerged from the huddle with his head in his hands, and the referees signaled an own goal, bringing the score to 6–3.
The next play, both teams clustered around a dropped ball. A St. Andrew’s player emerged and ran towards GDS’ undefended goal, scoring on the open net and narrowing the gap to 6–4. After another quick goal from the Lions and a score from Friedman, the third quarter ended 7–5.
St. Andrew’s scored just as the fourth quarter began, but the Hoppers were eager to extend their lead. A St. Andrew’s player slashed senior Julian Lucas’ knee as he scored a goal, causing Lucas to limp off the field. Immediately after a timeout, the Lions responded with a goal, leaving the score at 8–7 with only a minute remaining.
GDS kept possession for the rest of the game, and the team poured water on their coaches in celebration after the final whistle blew.
Junior Brady Leblanc said he thought the team’s new coaches, Jordan Washington and Julian Forbes, were the main reason for the team’s win. “The coaches bring a bunch of energy,” Leblanc said. Leblanc said this year’s coaches switched the team’s defense from man-to-man coverage to zone coverage and allotted more training time to practicing ground balls, which Leblanc said contributed to the team’s win.
“It’s definitely more physically challenging,” Leblanc said about this year’s team practices. “We are doing way more conditioning than we’ve ever done before.”
Two days prior to Monday’s game, the lacrosse team beat St. Andrew’s in a regular-season game. “We used our momentum from the win on Saturday,” McManus said. “I thought that really got us going.”
“We got out to an early lead,” sophomore Cameron Toufanian said. “We almost threw it away, but we found ourselves, we dug deep and we pulled it out.”
The team’s winning streak came to an end in their semifinal game against Potomac, the number one–ranked team in the MAC, on Wednesday, May 6.