Marysville’s Jordan Anspach, left, winds up for his game-winning goal against Canal Winchester in triple overtime. The junior recorded one goal in the team’s first victory of the season. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
Marysville secured its first boys lacrosse win of the season in a thrilling fashion over Canal Winchester.
The Monarchs won, 8-7, in triple overtime.
“We probably let up way too early in the game where we had a chance to put it away,” MHS head coach Zac Engel said. “It turned into a much better game than it should’ve been.
“At the end of the day, we did what we needed to do in overtime.”
The Monarchs were red-hot to start the first quarter of the matchup.
They notched four goals compared to the Indians’ zero.
However, momentum began to change in favor of the home team as Canal Winchester started to claw its way back with three goals in the second quarter.
The two units tied in the third quarter.
The Indians secured another two goals compared to Marysville’s one to make it a 5-5 game.
“We knew there was a big game [on Saturday],” Engel said regarding the team’s mental state. “I don’t know if we caught ourselves sleeping on an opponent that wasn’t going to quit playing.”
Like two heavyweights exchanging body punches, the Monarchs and Indians tied yet again towards the end of the fourth quarter.
The 7-7 deadlock forced overtime.
Senior captain Isaac Tocci secured the team’s final score with eight seconds left in regulation.
Thanks to a vigilant defense, the Monarchs were able to survive into the overtime periods.
“We had opportunities all game and it was about time for something to fall in,” Engel said. “Obviously, we were pretty psyched to get into overtime.”
Engel added that while he was not thrilled the matchup went to extended sessions, he said the key was to provide “pressure” wherever the Indians were putting the ball.
Both squads exhausted two overtime periods, but it was in triple overtime where Marysville overcame Canal Winchester’s momentum,
Jordan Anspach scored the Monarchs’ game-winning goal.
Tocci recorded five goals in Marysville’s first win of the season, while Lane McCormick and Ben Durey added one goal each in regulation.
Inside the cage, goalie Griffin Ahlstorm claimed eight saves.
“Credit to [Canal Winchester],” Engel commented. “They didn’t stop playing when they got down big and they made it a heck of a game.”