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Oak Hall Win First Playoff Game

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in .
From www.gainesville.com Rick Kirschner wanted a tougher schedule this year to prepare his boys lacrosse team for the state playoffs, for moments like Tuesday’s first-round play-in battle with St. Augustine. The Yellow Jackets kept trimming the gap that the Eagles had built, and pulled within two goals with plenty of time left in the fourth. The momentum was definitely shifting, and Oak Hall, on its home field, responded. Danny Stirt and Brad Pita each had late goals, Will Oliver had a team-leading three and Jake Kirschner tossed in two goals and had five assists as the Eagles held on to a 11-8 win, its first state playoff victory in school history. The three-time defending district champions will get what they wanted, a rematch with state-power Ponte Vedra at Oak Hall on Friday at 7 p.m. The Sharks have dominated the Eagles the last two years, beating them 17-1 a year ago and 16-3 in 2011. “I feel like we are a program on the rise,” Rick Kirschner said. “Ponte Vedra is a good match to see how far we have come. We hope we can pull the upset. They are a very talented team. “We played Maclay tough and lost by two after they scored a late goal. Ponte Vedra also lost to Maclay, so that gives us hope. We welcome the opportunity to play them.” Ahead 7-3 at the half — getting all three of Oliver’s goals and two goals and four assists from Jake Kirschner — but the visiting Yellow Jackets, behind stellar play from sophomore Griffin Loughlin, didn’t buckle. Twice St. Augustine (13-4) pulled within a pair of goals (8-6, 9-7), both off scores from Loughlin, who had a game-high four. Read the rest of the article…

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