By Lars Bennett Photos Courtesy of Lisa Erdmann As the crowd quieted and filed out of William T. Dwyer stadium, you might have heard Benjamin captain Jerry

O’Connor (Yale) say, “Let’s go.  Two by two boys.”  While the Benjamin team had only a short walk across Central Boulevard to their home locker room, the District Championship game they just finished had been no walk in the park. The past five meetings between Jupiter High School and The Benjamin School have been tense, energy packed affairs always with something hanging in the balance be it neighborhood bragging rights or a trip to Regionals.  Two years ago Jupiter ended a talented, senior heavy Benjamin team’s season, while last season saw the schools split their two meetings with Benjamin taking the important Regional game in one of the most exciting (and best attended) area lacrosse games ever played. This season, Benjamin’s first game against Jupiter ended in what was then seen as a complete upset with a 9-5 away win.  Benjamin went on to a six game winning streak becoming the hottest team in the State, while Jupiter slid down in the national polls.

After on and off rain and hosting the two previous District games, Dwyer’s field was a bit worse for the wear.  The high humidity and misting rain only made things worse.  Field conditions become a serious factor when you have two teams with the quickness and speed of Jupiter and Benjamin.  The slick track made for some very acrobatic slides and recoveries as the field became more and more chewed up as the game progressed. The end to end action started from the opening whistle.  Benjamin did  not waste time getting on the scoreboard, with

sophomore Colin O’Hare notching an unassisted goal at the 7:36 mark that was quickly followed up his classmate Andrew Packer’s (Maryland) goal on an assist from 8^th grader Will Nicklaus.  Three minutes later senior Jeremy Stauffer put one in assisted by senior Ryan Silvester to make it 3-0 Benjamin. Jupiter kept the pace high and finally got on the board with a goal from Peter Cox (Army).  With just 36 seconds left in the first quarter Lars Coughlin followed up with a goal of his own and Jupiter appeared to have some much needed momentum.  After a scoreless second quarter, the teams gathered for their halftime talks with Benjamin holding a 3-2 lead. Based on their previous meetings, the crowd was full of nervous energy knowing that the second half was sure to be hard fought.  Hazy, hot and humid with a slight rain

falling is not ideal lacrosse weather, but with two talented teams playing for the District Championship and for a trip to the first round of the Regional playoffs nobody seemed to notice. Benjamin opened up the scoring in the second half just as they did the first running hard and taking it directly at Jupiter’s much vaunted defense led by Division I recruits Connor Alexander (Duke) and Braylon Sampson (Bryant).  Benjamin’s senior captain and overall workhorse McKenna Johnston (Washington & Lee) made it 4-2 on an assist from Silvester.  Colin O’Hare kept the train rolling with an unassisted goal bringing it to 5-2 with Benjamin firmly in control of the game. For the time being that was. The later stages of the third quarter saw a shift in momentum that started at 7:09 to go on a laser rip from Jupiter attackman Jesse Foertmeyer, which was follow up by a Michael Dean goal with 0:29 seconds to go in the quarter.  5-4 Benjamin. After some sloppy defense on Benjamin’s part, Jupiter broke out on a fast break with Zach Crotty notching a huge goal to tie the game 5-5. Jupiter’s bench erupted into a frenzied mosh pit and their crowd whooped it up in the stands.  The Benjamin faithful had seen this bad movie before! But unlike the team breakdowns witnessed in previous years, Benjamin wasn’t going to fall part.  Not tonight. The play became even more intense with both sides upping the energy level.  A bit too much on Michael Dean’s part after being sent off for slashing.  Hardnosed middie Bobby O’Leary put in a huge go ahead goal at 8:21 in the third. Jupiter was visibly shaken and lost the ball on a failure to advance call.  Benjamin showed jitters of its own losing the ball on a bad clear resulting in a big shot from Jupiter that went just wide.  Showing tremendous hustle and heart, Benjamin’s goalie Anthony Cicio (Manhattan) ran down the ball as it went out of bounds to gain possession. The Benjamin crowed showed its appreciation for their senior captain’s efforts with loud chants of “Let’s Go Bucs!”  After the ensuing clear, Benjamin went man up due to a conduct call against Jupiter’s Braylon Sampson (note to young players out there:  you will never win an argument with a ref!). The man up rotation gave Bobby O’Leary time and space, and he let a big outside shot rip only to be met by a fantastic, gusty save by Viper Scheele.  Unfortunately for Scheele he could not control the rebound and the speedy O’Hare plucked the ball from midair and stuffed it in the goal making it 7-5. With 5:08 to go in the game, Jupiter’s Jake Steiger made it 7-6.  The ensuing face off was won by Benjamin’s Packer who flew down the field to score an unbelievable unassisted goal.  The crowd went crazy. Benjamin’s defense held strong led by Jerry O’Connor, John Dorsett (Gettysburg) and Danny Borislow, and assisted by strong d-middie play from Trevor Ross and Bobby O’Leary.  And with 2:07 remaining, head coach Shane Rye was able to call a time out after Dorsett gained possession and advance the ball to Jupiter’s end of the field. Jupiter was losing its composure with Connor Alexander called for holding, which was followed by an unnecessary roughness call on Braylon Sampson for taking Andrew Packer down from behind well after the ball was out of play. In the end, Jupiter never was able to take control of the game and Benjamin continued its unbeaten streak to seven.  Next up Jensen Beach.