Broughton boys lacrosse still undefeated, holds off Green Hope

Broughton and Green Hope put together a boys lacrosse game worth rewatching on Thursday. The host Capitals got two goals in the final 2 minutes and 4 seconds to come away with a 10-8 nonconference victory in front of Time Warner Cable’s twcsportschannel cameras.

Green Hope (9-3, 5-2 Southwest Wake) had tied the game at 8-all with 2:15 to play on a solo effor from Aidan Callahan. But Broughton, as it did twice in the second half, needed less than 30 seconds to answer.

Butler Bennett’s go-ahead goal with 2:04 to play on a transition assist from Davis Willard was the first blow. Austen Bell’s faceoff-to-net goal with 1:52 left gave the Caps (11-0, 9-0 Cap-8) some final cushion.

“We knew it was going to be a dog fight, and (Green Hope) gave us every bit of that,” Broughton coach Michael Raskevitz said. “I thought we would dictate more of the pace offensively. I had hoped we would get out to an early lead. But their defense was much, much better than what we had seen on film and what we anticipated.”

Green Hope led the game, which will air on tape-delay throughout the next week, 3-2 at halftime and gave Broughton a run at its unblemished record. But Raskevitz is still unbeaten in his first year leading the Caps.

“I knew we had a great group of kids, but it’s still about putting the pieces into place and they’ve really invested, on both ends of the field and between the line, on what we’re trying to do,” Raskevitz said. “You can’t beat a team like (Green Hope) unless you really come together.”

They said it

“We struggled a little bit on the defensive end to protect that back side and it kind of hurt us throughout the game,” Green Hope coach John Larkin said. “It’s tough, because we’ve been in all three of (our losses) and we lost all three of them. But we’re going to get back after it, finish out the season and get a (playoff) spot in May.”

Three to know

Dana Kelly, Green Hope: Had a first-half hat trick, led Falcons in goals with three.

Mitchel Snyder, Broughton: Led the Caps with three goals and two assists.

“We kind of let them back in the game, but we did our best to come back,” Snyder said. “... But it was definitely good to settle it and work it around and find our match-ups and work them.”

Austen Bell, Broughton: Did a little of everything: two goals, one assist, five groundballs and three faceoffs won.

Unsung hero

Green Hope’s Conor Ryan had a great game as goalie, keeping the Caps off the board for most of the first half despite Broughton having the lion’s share of possession.

By the numbers

4: Broughton won just four of 19 faceoffs.

15: Green Hope won 15 of 19 faceoffs.

5: Green Hope players who scored: Kelly, Callahan (two) and one apiece for Nolan Paussa (one assist), Will McClain and Tucker Burkinshaw.

6: Broughton players who scored: Snyder, Bell, Bennett (two) and one apiece for Van Parker (two assists), William Rice and Nick Cattano.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 9:10 PM with the headline "Broughton boys lacrosse still undefeated, holds off Green Hope."