Ravenscroft boys lacrosse too much for North Raleigh Christian
The Ravenscroft and North Raleigh Christian Academy boys lacrosse programs both aspire to great things this season, but to varying degrees.
Ravenscroft is seeking that elusive state title after coming up a victory short a year ago, while second-year varsity program NRCA hopes to continue its steady rise toward respectability.
Thus Thursday’s outcome wasn’t terribly surprising, as the visiting Ravens struck for seven first-quarter goals on their way to a 17-3 victory in a Triangle Independent Schools Athletic Conference contest.
Drew Davis had five goals and an assist and McCabe Watson added three goals for Ravenscroft (11-2), which a year ago lost to Charlotte Latin, 15-10, in the championship game of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association tournament.
“Losing the state championship game last year was really upsetting to us,” said Davis, a senior attacker and one of four co-captains. “We worked really hard in the offseason and we’ve worked hard this season. We have a lot of chemistry this year, we’re best friends out of school, and it shows on the field.”
That chemistry was evident early as Ravenscroft seized control immediately. The Ravens took a 1-0 lead when midfielder Troy Jones fired a quick pass diagonally through traffic toward a cutting Watson, who easily beat Knights goalie Will Howerton with 9 minutes, 24 seconds remaining. The pair hooked up again just under two minutes later, producing another goal in almost identical fashion to make it 2-0.
Five more goals followed in the quarter, two by Davis, and the Ravens added six goals in the second quarter to build a 13-1 lead before Ravenscroft coach Sandy Kapatos rested his seniors in the second half.
Lee Bishop had two goals to pace NRCA (5-7), which was seeking a two-game winning streak after halting a six-match losing skid on Monday with a 12-8 victory over Cary Christian.
They said it
“We look at this as a building game, playing them is a great opportunity for us,” said NRCA coach Jay Boriotti. “Anytime we get to play teams that are better than us, it’s awesome, we get to see how everything should look on the field.
“We have an opportunity to go .500 as a second-year program, 8-8, and playing Ravenscroft was a great way to prepare us for next week.”
Three to know
Drew Davis, Ravenscroft: The senior attacker was able to find holes in the North Raleigh defense with relative ease, making good on set-ups from his teammates.
McCabe Watson, Ravenscroft: The sophomore midfielder got things rolling offensively early for the Ravens with the first two goals of the match.
Spencer Beller, Ravenscroft: A senior attacker, Beller had two goals and an assist.
By the numbers
2: The number of victories NRCA had last season.
12: Total players for Ravenscroft who had either a goal or an assist vs. North Raleigh.
This story was originally published April 22, 2016 at 12:26 AM with the headline "Ravenscroft boys lacrosse too much for North Raleigh Christian."