The Perryville boys lacrosse team ended six years of frustration against rival Rising Sun Monday night. The Panthers prevailed 10-5 on the Tigers' Senior Night, the latest milestone in their breakthrough season. It was the sixth straight win for Perryville (7-2) and first over Rising Sun since a 9-8 overtime decision on March 31, 2009. The Tigers had won the eight previous meetings between the two schools.
"It meant a lot more, I think, to all of us than anyone really knows," said Perryville coach Brandon Townsend. "We've had [Rising Sun] in our sights every year and every year we've gotten a little bit closer. Finally, it's nice to be able to come out here and take a win from them and earn the win." The Panthers put the game away with a dominant fourth quarter. Rising Sun had trimmed its deficit to 6-5 with five seconds left in the third quarter when attackman Brad Alexander took advantage of a Perryville turnover. Things seemed to be going the Tigers way when they started the fourth quarter with an extra man opportunity after a Panther player was penalized for using an illegal stick. But the Perryville defense held firm and momentum changed back quickly. Ray Woods scored three straight goals to up the lead to 9-5 and ice the game. Woods finished with three goals and an assist and Nick Roberts also scored three goals. Tyler Wagoner notched two goals and an assist and Joey Carter tallied twice. Rising Sun opened the scoring when long-stick middie Wyatt Kennedy converted a pass from Brad Alexander. The Tigers led 1-0 at the end of the first quarter but the advantage could have been much bigger if not for Panthers' goalie Ben Savick. "Ben did an amazing job between the pipes," said Woods. "It's probably one of the best performances I've ever seen. He made a couple close saves that kept us alive. The whole first quarter, he did amazing to keep us alive." Savick made several spectacular saves in the first quarter and played brilliantly all evening. "I tried to just keep my head in the game," Savick said. "I love my defense (led by close defenders Dominic Muscella, Shaun Vines, and Joe Perry) and I couldn't do it without them. And I just think, honestly, it was just such a team effort. I had some pretty good saves but I know I couldn't have done it without my defense." The stellar play by Savick and the defense enabled the Panthers to weather the storm. "It kind of stopped them and pushed our momentum against theirs. It really helped," said Savick. "I've been playing against these kids (the Rising Sun players) all my life. I love them. And to get that energy and turn it back, it's the best feeling." Said Townsend: "That kept us in the game for us to even be in to win," Townsend said. "We didn't play well as a team in the first quarter other than Ben, I think. It took us a while to settle down, make passes, make good decisions. We weren't hustling to groundballs. Without Ben between the pipes, I don't think we would've won this game." Fortunate to be trailing by only one goal, the Panthers responded by tallying the first four goals of the second quarter. Wyatt Griffith and and Alexander scored before halftime to trim the margin to 4-3 at the break. Griffith scored the first goal of the second half to tie the game, but Roberts and Wagoner answered to put the Panthers back in front by two. After Alexander sliced the Panthers' lead in half, Perryville did not get discouraged and pulled away. It was a huge win for the Panthers, who are playing for playoff position and the Susquehanna Division title. "I don't think Perryville's ever been the first seed like this before," Woods said. "It's a big thing for us to be the first seed and leading the division." It's also a big thing for the Panthers to defeat Rising Sun. This time around, it was the Tigers with a "5" on the scoreboard. "Last year was a close game, 6-5," Woods said. "The game before that, it was 20-5. So, this makes it extra special to beat them 10-5." Comments are closed.
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