The Hargrave Varsity Lacrosse Team took to the field last night to host the Raiders of North Cross and determined to make a statement to the conference. With the fog settling in for the evening and the constant mist of rain coming down, the tigers played with what can only be termed “Tiger Style”.
With a roster crippled by injury and academic concerns Sophomore Aaron Montgomery sparked the fire as he netted the evening’s first score on a connecting pass from Senior J.C. Shelton. The Raiders would fight back and connect for a goal of their own minutes after. With the Score noted at one a piece the tigers would strike back with a laser from Junior Michael Princivil with an assist going to J.C. Shelton, who would tally his second assist of the night. In a night built for lacrosse the Tigers of Hargrave and the Raiders of North cross would trade possession of the ball several times. With the game half way in to the second quarter and the Raiders up by a score of 2-3 Senior J.C. Shelton would tie things up with a feed from Junior Michael Princivil. North Cross would net three goals late in the first half to gain a 56to 3 advantage, but the tigers had some surprises of their own left. With two consecutive face-off wins by Senior midfielder Reeves Hollar the Tigers would answer back with 2 goals in 15 seconds, Hollar and Montgomery each getting credit for a goal, Shelton and Salman with an assist each. With 30 seconds left on the clock in the first half of play the Tigers would draw the extra man only missing by inches on a tying goal attempt.
The second half would open with a quick goal from Midfielder Reeves Hollar tying the game at 6 to 6. Hollar would strike again off a feeding pass from Michael Princivil to give the tigers the 7-6 lead. North Cross would tie the game at the end of the third quarter of work making it 7-7. Senior Captain J.C. Shelton responded in the fourth with a goal of his own on a pass from attackman Maxx Baldino. The game would be tied at 8-8 for much of the fourth until Senior Reeves Hollar would stick his fourth goal of the night in the back of the cage on a pass from Maxx Baldino giving the Tigers a 9-8 lead late in the game. Junior Michael Princivil would allow the tigers some breathing room as he would find the back of the North Cross Goal for the second time in the night. North Cross would capitalize on a man up possession to bring the game with in one but the Tiger’s defense was too strong for the Raiders to overcome.
On the Defensive end of the field there were many notable performances as Senior John Kneppler, Junior Jack Neblett and Senior Chris Morris all had an outstanding game. The Major Highlight of the night on defense was the 27 saves by Senior Goalie Stefan Taylor. Taylor’s 27 save mark broke the previous record held by Jeff Tabor at 24 saves in a game.
