Middle Creek runs by Green Hope in boys lacrosse playoffs

The Middle Creek boys lacrosse team has become accustomed to scoring in bunches; and it was no different Tuesday night. The Mustangs scored three first-quarter goals en route to a 17-6 win against Southwest Wake Athletic Conference foe Green Hope in the third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A playoffs.

The Mustangs entered the playoffs as the top seed and earned a first-round bye in the East region, and will now host third-seed Hoggard Friday night after the Vikings got past Leesville Road.

Middle Creek (19-0) won the opening faceoff and scored just 90 seconds into the game. They added two more in a four-minute span, forcing Green Hope to call a time out to slow down the Mustangs. It didn’t help much as Middle Creek won just about every offensive category, including outscoring Green Hope in each quarter.

“We really try to practice playing fast, but also being able to slow it up; I think that’s a good way to keep a team on their toes,” said Mustangs coach Nick Holota. “We love to get out in transition and run; it’s a lot of fun to play that style but we’ve added this year the ability to slow things up, really work it for a great shot.”

When playing fast or slow, the Mustangs stayed consistent with moving the ball. Middle Creek tallied nine assists on their 17 goals. Owen Caputo led the Mustangs with eight points (four goals and four assists), and a trio of players – Nate Post, Jared Medwar and Jake Caputo – had hat tricks.

Green Hope (14-5) fell to Middle Creek for the third time on the season. Following a bye to start their postseason play, the eighth-seeded Falcons defeated New Hanover in the second round before losing to their familiar foe.

“I think anytime you’re in the SWAC and you have to grind through the schedule and you make the playoffs, I think that’s a success,” said coach John Larkin. “I think the playoffs have shown that SWAC teams compete. We go and beat each other up all year, and it’s unfortunate we get Middle Creek.”

Green Hope’s Jack Larkin scored with 15 seconds to go in the first quarter to trim the deficit to two heading into the second quarter. But Middle Creek would outscore the Falcons 3-0 in the second as they began to pull away.

Larkin would stop the bleeding, if only momentarily, when he scored an unassisted goal to begin the third, making it a 6-2 game. However, the Mustangs again responded with back-to-back goals from Medwar and Jake Caputo to put the game out of reach.

This story was originally published May 9, 2017 at 10:55 PM with the headline "Middle Creek runs by Green Hope in boys lacrosse playoffs."