In last week’s Media poll, Jupiter and LHP were ranked #1 and #2 while in the Coaches Poll it was LHP #1 and Jupiter #3.  Either way it set up it was going to be a heck of a game.  And did it live up to the billing.  Jupiter found a way to win this one without key attackmen Jesse Foertmeyer and Davis Yates.  Zach Crotty stepped up big time (2G/4A) and he was assisted by key contributions on attack from 2 fill-ins:  Sophomore Alex Derrico and Freshman Michael Dean contributed 2 goals each to help lead Jupiter to the home win over Lake Highland 12-10, snapping LHP’s winning streak at 12 (17 when only considering Florida opponents).  Jake Steiger (1G/3A) also stepped up and was effective inverting from midfield.  The game featured both teams going on lengthy scoring runs and momentum swings were answered time and time again. Jupiter’s long poles also kept LHP’s dodging middies from getting off good looks from up top, allowing Jupiter goalie ‘Viper’ Scheele (11 saves) to get just that little extra time to read the sticks and make saves.  Reid Thedford (shown above) led LHP with 4G/1A as he found the ability to exploit Jupiter’s defense from behind the goal by taking advantage of short-stick match-ups.  The play was clean and well played as the teams combined for only 21 turnovers and each team took just 6 penalties, although one of them almost changed the ending of the game.  In a game of D1 recruited goalies Scheele outplayed LHP’s Adam Sawicki (5 saves) although I would certainly say Jupiter had the better scoring opportunities as they found a more consistent ability to get to the front of the net. The first quarter was all Jupiter as they struck early, middle and late to take a 3-0 first period lead.  The stats for the quarter indicated very little total offense as the two teams combined for a total of 13 shots at goal.  But Jupiter’s offense was very efficient in the quarter, as they scored on three of the four shots they placed on net.  Crotty opened the scoring just 1:45 into the game, taking Jake Steiger’s invert pass from behind the net after cutting in from up the left side.  With 5:32 left Crotty scored his second unassisted, curling from behind the net on the left side and firing it with the right hand.  Crotty then found Derrico cutting down the middle from left goal line extended to make it 3-0 at 2:35. LHP got on the scoreboard just 18 seconds into the second as Kyle Richbourg took a cross crease feed from Don Eidson, who had beat his defender on a right alley dodge.  Richbourg hit the open net to cut into the lead.  Less than a minute later Jupiter got that one back, at 10:52, on Peter Cox’s unassisted left-handed bounce shot as he cut to the middle from the right side to make it 4-1.  But with Max Parker controlling the faceoff circle LHP went on a run of it’s own, scoring 4 times in less than 4 minutes to take the lead back at 5-4.  Thedford scored his first just 27 seconds later, unassisted on a face dodge off the left wing, working his way to the crease and finishing right-handed.  Jonathan Clayton then scored twice, at 8:26 and 8:08 to tie the game at 4.  The first came off a Jackson Colling pass to the left crease and the second from the same spot off a fast break pass from Richbourg, drawing a penalty after the play.  Colling finished off the run with 6:44 left on a right alley dodge, finishing into the far side of teh net, high-to-high. But momentum swung back to Jupiter as they went on a 3-0 run of their own to take the lead back 7-5 at the half.  At 5:46 Sean Denes took Crotty’s feed from behind the net, cutting down the middle to tie the game back up.  After some possession changes Michael Dean scored his first, finishing off a 3 on 2 fast break.  Crotty fed him cross-crease from the left side and Dean dropped it into the open net with 2:42 to go to take the lead back.  Long pole Ben White then stretched the lead to 2 on a solo dash down most of the field and converted unassisted to end the prolific second quarter.  Jupiter’s offense was again more efficient in the period as they scored on 4 of their 6 shots on goal while LHP ‘s 5 goals came off the 10 shots on goal that resulted from 13 attempts. After the goal scoring spree of the second the teams tightened up for the first 7-plus minutes of the third and both goalies pitched shutouts for that time.  But then the dam broke as Jupiter managed to stretch their scoring run from the second into a seven goal run by scoring 4 times in less than 2 1/2 minutes late in the third to make the lead 11-5.  Lars Coughlin scored on the EMO, taking Steiger’s behind the crease feed while cutting down the middle (this offensive pattern gave LHP fits all game long) and scoring left-handed at 4:36 to ignite the run.  23 seconds later Dean scored his second from Crotty, finishing a fast break initiated by Scheele, finishing from the left crease area.  At 2:35 Cox scored his second on another EMO from Steiger, with a right wing shot off a feed from up top and just 25 seconds later Derrico converted Crotty’s 4th assist on the same cut down the middle and behind the goal feed to make it 11-5.  After regaining possession Crotty made his only big mistake of the game.  With the ball and less than a minute to go he forced a shot with about 30 seconds to go in the period when it would have been more advisable to hold for the last shot.  And Thedford made Jupiter pay, scoring with 12 seconds left on the clock to cut the lead to 5, dodging down the middle and bouncing one between Scheele’s legs.  A potential 12-5 Jupiter lead had turned into an 11-6 one instead.  While that might not have seemed to be a big play at the time it did subtly change momentum. LHP cut the lead again as Thedford found a gap between 2 defenders as he dodged from behind the left side of the cage, making it 11-7 with 10:51 left.  Jupiter was able to slow down the momentum on Steiger’s left alley dodge, firing in a left hand shot to the far side to make it 12-7 with 9:28 left.  But LHP kept chipping away and with 6:15 left Thedford repeated his earlier move to cut it to four again.  About 90 seconds later Jupiter was whistled for a 2-minute un-releasable roughness penalty, as Thedford tried to duplicate his effort.  Jupiter’s EMO defense was able to kill about 90 seconds of the penalty until Will Wolfson cut the margin to 3 with 3:16 left on a step down bounce shot to the left side of the goal.  After a turnover, LHP then cut the lead to 12-10 with 2:28 left as long pole Griff Caligiuri was able to rifle one home in transition.  But that was as close as LHP could make it and the game ended with no further scoring.  Although the late rally got LHP close they will look at that quarter with some regret as they could only put 6 of their 15 shots on goal in the period. For LHP they will look at their shooting and the inability to stop the back-door cuts down the middle.  For Jupiter a big time win (and their second straight over LHP) while shorthanded.  Although Max Parker was his usual dominant self in the FOGO role, winning 18 of 24, Jupiter did a great job of not allowing the lost face-offs to be turned into fast break opportunities and the ones that Jupiter won came at important times during the game. For lacrosse fans, another great example of why we love this game.  My podcast partner Wells Dusenbury predicted this match-up as his state final and if this is the prequel then bring on the rematch . . .   Team Statistics Face-offs:  LHP 18 – Jupiter 6 Shots:  LHP 43 – Jupiter 27 Shots on Goal:  LHP – 21 – Jupiter 17 Turnovers:  LHP 11 – Jupiter 10 Penalties were 6 each   Individual Statistics   Jupiter Zach Crotty  2G/4A Jake Steiger:  1G/3A Alex Derrico  2G Michael Dean  2G Peter Cox  2G/1A Sean Denes  1G Ben White  1G Lars Coughlin  1G   LHP Reid Thedford  4G/1A Jonathan Clayton  2G Kyle Richbourg  1G/1A Jackson Colling  1G/1A Will Wolfson  1G Griff Caligiuri  1G Don Eidson  1A   Thanks to Coaches Loftus and Spaulding for talking to me before and after the game and to Jupiter AD Mike DeLeonardo for the plugs for the web site!  And a special thanks to LHP’s parent travel team for the great Bagel, Cream Cheese and Lox . . . with capers!! LHP is back in action on Monday, traveling to Hagerty for a top match-up and Jupiter travels to Wellington on Tuesday before playing back-to-back home games against Top 10 foes Boca Raton and Baron Collier in what will be very physical tests.