
#4 McDonogh Scores Late to Beat LHP 9-8 – Game Recap
Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in Uncategorized.
Thanks to John Prizer for this write-up and Roger Farwell – Enstone Images for the pictures!
Last night was a perfect night for lacrosse in Vero Beach as the number four nationally ranked McDonogh School from Owings Mills, Maryland took on Lake Highland Prep from Orlando, Florida. During the game I overheard one of the McDonogh dads comment to his wife “I guess we got our money’s worth on this trip.” Both teams were here to sharpen their swords in preparation for their quest to get to a state championship in their respective states and both teams got their money’s worth.
The evening began with a face off win by LHP Max Parker and led to a goal by Will Wolfson with his signature lefty rip on the run at 11:20. Reid Thedford followed up with a lefty rip of his own, low and away at 10:14. At 8:14, Tiger Graham notch the third LHP goal off a feed from Will Wolfson. A 3 – 0 LHP lead, coincidentally, the exact opposite of the 0-3 deficit LHP began with versus Boys Latin on Saturday.
LHP’s defense was playing aggressively and not letting the McDonogh offense find a rhythm. After a timeout by McDonogh Head Coach Andy Hilgartner, McDonogh battled back with goals at 7:20 by Valis unassisted and 6:34 by Austin from McGee to end the first, 3-2 LHP, also the exact opposite of the first quarter score vs BL.
At 11:32 in the second quarter, Valis tied it up for McDonogh at three with his own lefty rip for his second of the evening. Jackson Colling put LHP back in the lead at 7:55, assisted by Reid Thedford off an unsettled turnover and Colling pushed the lead to two at 5:50. That was the end of first half scoring with LHP taking a 5-3 lead into halftime.
The second half began with spirited defensive and back and forth play, then McDonogh quickly tied it at five with two quick goals Blanl unassisted at 8:08 and Austin from Clank at 8:03. Reid Thedford put LHP back into the lead at 6-5 at 1:29 in the third and that was the score at the end of three. McDonogh got the fourth quarter started quickly with a goal by Valis, his third, at 11:21 to tie it up at six.
McGee added a goal at 8:23 to give McDonogh their first lead of the game and would push their lead to 2 with another at 7:43. But LHP was not done yet. Reid Thedford scored his third of the evening off a feed from Ben Prizer at 6:32, and then tied it up at 8 at 3:31, unassisted for his fourth of the evening. LHP Max Parker won the ensuing faceoff and LHP coach Chris Spaulding called timeout to set up a play.
Unfortunately for the Highlanders, McDonogh’s defense was up to the challenge. A turnover led to a McDonogh goal at 2:03 for the final score of 9-8 McDonogh.
It was a disappointing loss for LHP and a gritty win for a McDonogh team that battled back after a slow start. All in, it was a thrilling game to watch and will help both of these teams through the remainder of their respective seasons.
LHP: Total Shots 36, Shots on Goal 17, Ground balls 21, Face off wins 8 of 20
McDonogh: Total Shots 20, Shots on Goal 17, Ground balls 10, Face off wins 12 of 20


