Ardent fourth period swing lifts Wooster past Archbishop Hoban for eighth straight lacrosse win

Ardent fourth period swing lifts Wooster past Archbishop Hoban for eighth straight lacrosse win

WOOSTER − With about six minutes left in the fourth period of Tuesday evening's boys lacrosse match between Wooster and Archbishop Hoban, the Knights held a nice 9-6 lead and were basically playing keep away for a period of time, which ran time off the clock.

Yet, the Knights weren't able to hold onto the ball for long, as Wooster's defenders and midfielders were able to force some loose balls and takeaways on some propitious stick checks that got Wooster the ball back. From there, Wooster were able to go to work, and outscored Archbishop Hoban 4-0 in the fourth period to surge back for a rousing 10-9 victory. The win pushed the Generals (8-3) to their eighth straight victory and kept them undefeated (6-0) in Region 6 play and in second place behind Canfield with three regular season games left until the start of the postseason.

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Wooster head coach Reid Delaney was asked if his team, last year's Division II state runners-up, have been in a situation this season where they were trailing late in the fourth period only to comeback and snatch a victory.

"Not this year," he said. "It was nice to get that win being down three goals with six minutes left. We haven't had that this year, so it was nice that our team came together and was not scared of the moment."

"At halftime, we heard they were cheering. That's not how it was supposed to be. We were supposed to be in the lead," said Wooster senior midfielder Drew Thomas. "It was a very important regional game. That was a must-win."

With Archbishop Hoban (4-8) leading 6-4 at halftime and holding a 9-6 lead heading into the fourth period, play wasn't going the Generals way, as they were loose with their stickwork and mishandled plenty of balls throughout that resulted in fast break opportunities for the Knights, that they usually converted on.

"We kept turning the ball over towards the top, which didn't help us," said Wooster senior attacker Gavin Giauque. "Then they kept getting fast break goals on us, which was hard on our defense."

Grabbing more of possession in those last six minutes, Thomas beat his man on what looked like a face dodge move for a goal. 9-7 Hoban.

Giauque later forced a takeaway from a Knights player, in which Wooster repossessed the ball. Thomas then assisted to his brother, Drew, for a goal in the slot area right in front of the Hoban goalie. 9-8 Hoban.