This game was a collision between two teams with an eerily similar approach to the game.  Both teams use a ball control game to wear down and frustrate faster, deeper opponents. Early in Maclay’s first possession the Lake Mary defense shut off the Marauders’ top offensive threat, Stephen Chase.  The Maclay bench used some substitution play to free him of the shut off.  But the slow pace of play by the Maclay offense resulted in a stall warning and they stepped out of the box and turned it over. The first six minutes continued much the same with very deliberate offense, strong defense, and the smallest mistakes making a difference.  Maclay started to click and got a pair of shots then made a great ride to get the ball back and Javier Masferrer got a nice pass from Lewis Langford and s cored to put the Marauders up 1-0 with 5;44 left in the first quarter. Just over a minute later Maclay got another shot on goal, this one from freshman Jared Pichard. Pichard was also doing some great work on the face off X as he won the first three face offs of the game for Maclay. With 1:20 left in the first quarter the Langford to Masferrer connection worked again and Maclay took a 3-0 lead.  Lake Mary called a time out.  A stick penalty during the time out resulted in a 3:00 non releasable penalty against Maclay. Maclay’s man-down unit did the job and killed the penalty which extended into the second quarter. With 8:36 left in the second quarter Zach Gussman scored on a drive from X after he picked up a GB.  He drew a dead ball flag on the play so LM got the ball again with an EMO. Zach Gussman found Alex Forehand on the EMO to make it 3-2 Maclay with 7:59 left in the half. The next two minutes were all about good defense. Jared Pichard continued to be an all around star for Maclay as he played some excellent short stick middie defense.  Finally Maclay forced a GB and the Rams were called for a high hit in the scrum.   The referee called for a two minute penalty locked in.  Before play could resume the siren wailed and we had a lightning delay. After a short delay Maclay started with the ball and a two minute locked in penalty.  The Rams were able to kill the penalty but Maclay did get a few shots.  With :10 seconds left in the half a flag went down for a push on Lake Mary. Maclay began the second half with the EMO and Lewis Langford capitalized just 12 seconds into the quarter to make it 4-2.  Three minutes later talented sophomore Garrttt  Schwarz scored on a great give and go with Masferrer in transition to take a 5-2 lead. The Rams came right back off the face off when Zach Gussman finished with an assist by Charlie Ragault to make it 5-3.  Much of the third quarter included some tough play between the boxes.  The game was proof that you don’t have to have a 30 goal game to provide some great lacrosse.  Maclay was playing much more physical defense than many had expected. With 1:38 remaining in the third Alex Forehand scored for Lake Mary and drew a flag to bring the score up to 5-4  with Maclay still in the lead. In a controversial play, with zero left on the clock, Charlie Ragault scored to tie the game.  While it was a great play, it certainly appeared as if time had expired.  FHSAA plans for these situations and assigns a fourth official to the game who is in the box.  He is responsible for watching substitutions and the clock.  Apparently, he was “allegedly” eating a sandwich at the time and missed the play. With 10:34 left in the fourth quarter Alex Forehand scored to take the lead for the first time and extended the Lake Mary run to four straight goals. Charlie Ragault scored again for the Rams to give them a 7-5 lead with just over 9 left in the game.  Lake Mary won the next face off and went to work but a crease violation turned it over. Lewis Langford scored for Maclay on the next possession to make it 7-6 with 7:00 left.  Pichard won the next face off for Maclay but the fast break shot was absorbed by Chandler. Lake Mary tried to kill the clock with 2:00 left but an illegal screen gave it to Maclay.  They pushed the transition but lost control of the ball and Lake Mary picked it up and called TO on the end line.  Maclay came out of the time out in a ten man ride and did their best to create a turnover but Lake Mary was able to clear it. Maclay forced a turn over with time running short and got they got the ball downfield to Stephen Chase with :11 left on the clock.  He pushed it down the alley and made a pass.  Maclay went one more with the ball and with time expiring the final shot of the game whistled just millimeters wide of the post and Lake Mary was headed to the final four.