St. Xavier vs. Upper Arlington. The matchup of lacrosse super powers always delivers, and their June 3 showdown in the OHSAA Division I boys lacrosse state semifinals at Mason was no exception. Neither team had lost to in-state competition all season, but something had to give.
After the Bombers opened with fire and fury to take a 5-0 lead, the Golden Bears clawed all the way back to tie it in the final quarter. In the end, however, it was defending champion St. Xavier punching its ticket to the championship game, securing an 8-7 victory over Upper Arlington.
St. Xavier’s defense gets the credit, shutting down arguably Ohio’s top offense filled with future NCAA Division I talent. The Golden Bears controlled the ball for the majority of the game, but the Bombers repelled shot after shot to frustrate Upper Arlington.
“That was probably the best defense I’ve seen inside any lacrosse game,” St. Xavier head coach Nate Sprong said. “They have a bunch of Division I guys that are dangerous, and we did a really good job shutting them down.”
The Bomber’s sophomore goalie Sam Carpenter gave all the credit to his teammates, though he certainly had a hand in the lock-down defense.
“Without them, I would’ve been left out to dry,” Carpenter said. “They played their hearts out and did the best they possibly could have.”
The defending state champion Bombers now return to the state championship game on Saturday, June 6. While their 1 p.m. title defense against Cleveland St. Ignatius awaits, the team is simply enjoying the ride.
“It justifies all the hard work, effort, and dedication the kids have put into it,” Sprong said. “But right now, we’re just happy that we have practice back at St. X again tomorrow. It’s a great group of guys, and we don’t want to break up.”
Upper Arlington’s emotions were amplified after their semifinal loss after a hard week for the Golden Bears. On May 28, legendary former Golden Bears coach Ted Wolford passed away at the age of 66. He led the school to 16 state championships over his 24 seasons at the helm before stepping down in 2016. The Golden Bears’ field already bore his name, so the loss was felt hard by the entire community.
“He meant so much to everyone in this program,” current Upper Arlington head coach Kyle Olson said. “Not just these guys, but the last 49 years of Upper Arlington lacrosse. It’s been a really hard week with that.”
Even dealing with that tremendous loss, the Golden Bears staged a truly impressive comeback against the Bombers. St. Xavier pounced out of the gates, with a full house of goals coming from Ryder Munz’s hat trick and a pair of August Betz goals. St. Xavier had knocked out many opponents with that opening blitz, but the Golden Bears held together.
Lead by All-American and Cornell commit Luke Backes, Upper Arlington got to work before halftime. Backes drilled two goals in the final two minutes of the first half, and Pete Dusseau added an exclamation mark with a goal with just seconds remaining to take momentum into the break. The Golden Bears would score the lone goal of the third quarter, trailing 5-4 before the deciding period.
Though Spencer Stegbauer scored a goal to give the Bombers a bit of breathing room, Upper Arlington still had energy on its side. In less than 60 seconds, Zeke Winklevoss and Parker Old each found the back of the net to level the score at 6-6 with less than six minutes to go. The Upper Arlington fans were out in force, and it seemed the game might slip away from St. Xavier.
But the Bombers didn’t blink. Coach Sprong preached resiliency to his players, who clearly heard the message loud and clear.
“You can’t determine which way the ball bounces, but if we kept up we’d be right there at the end with a shot to win,” Sprong said.
Ethan Cole and DJ Frazier answered the call, each scoring in quick succession near the five-minute mark. Though Backes drilled a final shot to make things interesting, the Bombers were able to hold on and secure their return trip to the state finals.
Though not the outcome Upper Arlington was hoping for there’s no doubt it was a great season. Led by a strong senior class, the Golden Bears finish the year at 18-4 overall. Coach Olson said his seniors were instrumental to the continued success of the program.
“They’ve been extremely impactful. They’ve given a lot to this program and never made excuses. They just kept moving forward,” Olson said.
St. Xavier now gets the opportunity to defend it’s title against Cleveland’s St. Ignatius. Carpenter said he’s taking a team-first mentality into the final match of the season.
“At the end of the day, I want my team to be as happy as possible. With how much they’ve tried and put their hearts into this, I want them to win.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: St. Xavier lacrosse survives Upper Arlington, advances to finals
Reporting by Chase Souder, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chase Souder, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
