Above – Vero’s Austin Schepers defends Maclay’s Lewis Langford – photo by Jennifer Langford

Leading up the the Moe’s Southwest Grill Lax Classic I asked every coach I saw, “What is the top match up this weekend?”  Most of them thought it was going to be Vero Beach vs Maclay.  I had to agree and I was looking forward to it.  I would not be disappointed. Vero Beach won the opening face off and went to work.  Bennet O’Brien dished to Tyler Martin for an early shot that was gathered in by Maclay goalie Austin Cook. They were unable to get the clear into the box and turned it back to Vero but Vero gave it right back and Maclay got their first opportunity.  It didn’t take long for Stephen Chase to find Luke Langford and Maclay had a one goal lead. Jared Pichard won the next face to his wing man and Maclay went right back to work.  They nearly pulled off the same play but the ball would not find the net and Vero Beach took the rebound all the way to the other end where Chase Stokes finished to tie it up.

Maclay would turn it over on their next possession and gave Vero an opportunity that turned into an EMO when Maclay got flagged for procedure.  However, Teddy Transou made a great play getting the turnover and GB to send the ball to the offensive end where they killed the penalty. After each team traded a a couple of turnovers Maclay really got the offense working.  The possession started with a Scott Ereckson shot off the crossbar in transition which was followed up by two more shots off the post until Garret Schwarz finally buried one as he went to the ground to give Maclay a 2-1 lead with just under three minutes remaining in the first.

But Vero Beach got the next possession and with 1:30 remaining in the quarter Bennett O’Brien scored and the quarter would end all tied up. The second quarter began with a Vero win at the face off X and resulted in a goal by Tyler Martin :36 into the quarter.  Maclay would come back a minute and half later with a nice left catch and shot by Stephen Chase off of a Luke Langford feed. At the 8:54 mark Stephen Chase scooped up a ground ball outside on the GLE and made a great move to the cage and gave the lead back to Maclay 4-3. Vero Beach answered back a minute and thirty later with an underhand shot by Chris Britton.  His great shot found the back of the net and tied it up at 4 each.

After a Vero Beach time out Jack Thistle let a shot rip from the top that found the low corner of the goal and gave Vero Beach a 5-4 lead with 6:29 remaining in the half. Vero Beach had another nice offensive possession that resulted in Tyler Martin getting a high feed in the crease which he reach up and grabbed and was able to sneak under the crossbar to give Vero a two goal lead, the biggest lead by either team so far with 5:00 left in the half. Scott Ereckson netted one for Maclay to close the gap to one.

Bennet O’Brien added another goal for Vero Beach to make the spread two goals once again with 1:26 left in the half but Luke Langford answered right back for Maclay to close the distance to 7-6 and a tremendous back and forth half would end with that score. Teddy Transou tied it up for Maclay with a tremendous shot only 13 seconds into the second half after Maclay pushed the tempo right off the face off.  He ended up with the ball on the ensuing face off and pushed it again, this one right off the cross bar.

Chase Stokes pushed the ball up from X for Vero and hit a beautiful shot to the near post after freezing the goalie with a great look to the far post.  The goal put Vero out in front 8-7. Seconds later, Stephen Chase got his hat trick and tied it back up at 8 each.  Fourteen seconds later Teddy Transou did it again in transition.  He took the middle of the field and gave Maclay the lead 9-8 with a hard bounce shot right down the string line. At the halfway mark of the third quarter Bennet O’Brien got his hat trick for Vero Beach and tied it up at 9.

Chris Britton scored his second of the game to give Vero Beach a the lead once again 10-9.  Every inch and every shot was tough to come by in this evenly matched game. A couple of flags led to a two minute EMO opportunity for Vero Beach and they got a ton of shots but none found the net and Maclay escaped to keep within 1 goal of Vero Beach.

Two minutes into the final quarter Lewis Langford dodged into the middle and somehow managed to get his hands free for a great overhand shot to tie it up at 10 but Chase Stokes came right back to finish a fast break off the face off to get Vero the lead once again. Chase Stokes took a pass from X that found him open on the island and he brought the Vero Beach lead back to two goals with 5:36 remaining. Chase Stokes scored again on an EMO to give Vero a three goal lead but Garret Schwarz came back with a huge shot that got in just under the cross bar to close the distance to two once again, 13-11 with a little more than two minutes left in the game. Vero’s Chris Britton iced the game with :22 left as he gave his team a 3 goal lead.  Vero Beach held on to win it 13-11.