Lightning lifts West past East in Powerade boys lacrosse title
After having to sit for an extra hour and a half after the girls game was delayed due to inclement weather, the boys came out feisty at the start of the Powerade State Games East-West championship game Thursday night at WakeMed Soccer Park.
The West launched three shots on net in the opening five-plus minutes, notching goals each time from Weddington’s Cole Dinwiddie, Alex Helms and Hunter Fasanaro to take a 3-0 lead.
“We had a lot of guys from Weddington out there,” Fasanaro said. “And we came out very familiar with each other and I think it showed.”
A fourth shot went into the back of the net by Hickory’s Tyler Knowles, but it was waved off by the officials for offsides.
Meanwhile, the East side rifled five shots before finally getting one on frame as Cardinal Gibbons’ Jack Zarnick scored with 2:59 left in the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, the East came alive, outshooting its opponent 5-2 to start, eventually cutting the lead to 3-2 on a nifty underhanded effort while falling down by Athens Drive’s Bobby Padden with 8:41 to go.
Less than a minute later, lightning forced the teams off the field and 25 minutes later it was called with no end to the foul weather in sight.
“We were all a little antsy waiting for the game to start,” Padden said. “We wanted to play. We were all having fun. It’s a little disappointing we didn’t get to finish it.”
When the announcement was made, the West locker room erupted in celebration and yells of “We won!”
“We’re disappointed the game got cancelled,” Fasanaro said. “A lot of us guys traveled a long way from the West side. We really wanted a good game.”
It may have gone in the books as a tie if not for the post and a swift save by Weddington’s Bryce Cheek a minute earlier on shots by Padden and Zarnick.
It was the second straight year the boys game was truncated or canceled for lightning.
This story was originally published June 24, 2016 at 10:56 AM with the headline "Lightning lifts West past East in Powerade boys lacrosse title."