SOUTHERN PINES–From the moment you walk into the John Williams Athletic Complex in Southern Pines, you sense something different.
There’s a video screen on the scoreboard, where each Pinecrest High School lacrosse player has their picture on display after they score a goal. There’s artificial turf, too, which was probably the only reason why the Orange lacrosse team was the lone Hillsborough-based squad playing on a rainy night last Wednesday.
Orange’s game against the Pinecrest Patriots was different, too. Mainly because the referees likely needed Tommy John Surgery for the number of flags they threw.
The Panthers and the Patriots combined for 25 penalties in a game that stretched on for over two hours. While Orange wasn’t at its best in its first road game, they were good enough to win its second contest over a 4A opponent on the young season.
Sophomore Brandon Williams took a pass from Connor Kruse and buried a quick wrist shot past Patriots freshman goalkeeper Wesley Short with :45.9 remaining in overtime to lead Orange over Pinecrest 10-9. Williams scored four goals, while Kruse assisted on four goals to help the Panthers improve to 5-0.
Pinecrest led 9-5 with 11;48 remaining in regulation, but Orange scored four unanswered goals in the final nine minutes of regulation. Josh Crabtree tied the game with 1:04 remaining in regulation when Short saved an overhand shot from Cruse with 15 yards away. The ball bounced off Short’s stick. Crabtree batted at the ball like he was Sebastian Aho teeing up a slap shot for the Carolina Hurricanes. The ball rolled seven feet over the line across the turf.
Orange had to overcome numerous obstacles just to get the game into overtime. The Panthers were whistled for three penalties in the final 2:17 of regulation. In the final 51.1 seconds, the lost sophomore face-off ace Matthew MacNeir and long-stick defenseman Alden Cathey to slashing penalties. With the game tied 9-9, the Patriots had a 6-on-4 advantage for the final minute of regulation, but a shot by Gavin Latin went off the right shoulder of Josh Cowan.
Despite Cathey being in the penalty box, the Panthers were able to run out the final minute and get the game to overtime. Patriots freshman Jacob Steele won the overtime face-off when Macneir was called for a false start, but Laton fired an overhead shot over the net. After a restart, the Patriots turned it over following an over-and-back violation.
Orange turned it over on its initial overtime possession when Pinecrest’s Tyler Renzi picked up an errant pass, but the Patriot’s Weston Thomson was called for warding against Orange’s Sascha Van Praag. Orange fired four shots before Williams notched the game-winner.
Thomson registered four goal and four assists for Pinecrest (2-2). Laton finished with five goals and one assist.
Thomson started the fourth quarter with an overhead shot assisted by Laton that put the Patriots ahead 9-5 with 11:48 remaining. Orange freshman Jackson Runkle was inserted as the Panther goalkeeper and held the Patriots scoreless for the remainder of regulation.
Williams scored a man-up goal after Thomson was penalized for an illegal check. Williams added his third goal off a feed from Kruse with 6:56 remaining in regulation to put the Patriots lead to 9-8.
Despite being penalized three times in the first period, the Patriots still led 3-0 after the opening twelve minutes. Thompson scored two goals while Laton added another.
Orange responded with five unanswered tallies in the second quarter. Macneir scored directly off the face-off to start the second. Kruse, Crabtree, Brett Clark and Williams also added goal to put Orange ahead 5-3 at halftime.
Orange went on a scoreless drought of 18:31. The Patriots scored six straight goals. Laton had four goals in the third quarter.
The Panthers completed the week with a 17-3 win at Seaforth on Friday. Orange is 2-0 in the Mid-Carolina Conference as they prepare to travel to Jordan on Tuesday night.