Undefeated Broughton rallies by Leesville Road boys’ lacrosse

Trailing by four goals in the fourth quarter, its undefeated season and very likely its Cap-8 title hopes in serious jeopardy, the Broughton boys’ lacrosse team came to life when it needed it most.

The Capitals scored the final six goals, including David Liggett’s game-winner with just over two minutes remaining, to pull out a 12-10 victory over visiting Leesville Road on Monday.

Van Parker had four goals and an assist, and William Rice, Austin Bell and Nick Cattano had two goals apiece for Broughton (15-0, 7-0 Cap-8), which moved one game ahead of Leesville Road (10-4, 6-1). Both teams have two league games remaining.

Leesville Road scored five straight goals, the last of those by Alex Shearer with 8 minutes, 42 seconds remaining, to take a 10-6 lead.

Bell halted the run when he scored with 7:02 left to bring Broughton within 10-7. Rice followed with back-to-back goals before Cattano scored off an assist from Mitch Snyder with 3:02 to knot the score at 10.

Broughton won the ensuing faceoff, and moments later Liggett scored the game-winner with 2:14 left. Parker added an insurance goal with 1:05 to go.

“I didn’t feel like it was bleak, but (down) four, that’s a big mountain to overcome,” Broughton coach Michael Raskevitz said. “But the guys pushed right through.”

The two teams met in the season-opener for both on March 1, Broughton prevailing at Leesville Road, 12-8, in a nonconference contest. The Cap-8 has two lacrosse-only members – Rolesville and Garner – which would have forced 18 conference games had everyone played each other twice. Teams are limited to no more than 17 by the NCHSAA.

The Pride was able to control the pace of play for much of Monday’s match, content to maintain possession and methodically set up its offense. It worked in slowing a high-powered Broughton offense that had scored 15 or more goals in nine of its previous 14 games.

That is, until the final seven minutes of play.

“We made some big mistakes in transition and big mistakes in the clearing game.” Leesville Road coach Franklin Zirkle said. “Our goalie Graham (Holmes) played a great game, and we just put too much pressure on him at the end.”

Turning point

Leesville Road’s standout faceoff specialist David Sampere had another strong performance, but Broughton managed to win several faceoffs during its final surge over the last seven minutes to turn the tide, including one that led to Bell’s goal that stopped the Pride’s five-goal run and sparked Broughton’s comeback.

They said it

“Honestly, (down four), I looked to the guys to my left and to my right and they all had the same look in their eyes,” Rice said. “It was something we hadn’t seen before, but we just knew we could do it. It was all of us together.”

Three to know

Van Parker, Broughton: The freshman attack did his part to help keep the Capitals’ offense afloat throughout, scoring one goal in each of the fourth quarters.

William Rice, Broughton: The junior not only provided a late scoring punch, but also an emotional lift as he implored the Broughton fans to raise the volume after both his fourth-quarter goals.

Griffin McNamara, Leesville Road: McNamara had a fine game, tallying two goals and two assists for the Pride.

By the numbers

0: Total times prior to Monday’s match that Broughton had allowed double-digit goals in a match.

1: Combined losses for the four teams that Leesville Road has lost to this season. Broughton and Northwest Guilford are undefeated and Apex is 14-1.

4: Number of ties during Monday’s match, the last of those 10-all in the fourth quarter.

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 12:33 AM with the headline "Undefeated Broughton rallies by Leesville Road boys’ lacrosse."