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South River took command in the final 10 seconds of the first half of Monday night's boys lacrosse game at Broadneck.
That was when Craig Chick and Andrew Thomas scored goals 6.7 seconds apart. Those two scores started a five-goal run that gave No. 13 South River momentum, as the Seahawks rolled to a 12-9 victory over No. 14 Broadneck.
South River (10-2) twice led by two goals in the second quarter, but Broadneck (8-4) scored three of four to tie the game at 5 late in the half. That was when Chick and Thomas took over on a rainy night.
Chick fired a 10-yard shot past Broadneck goalie Michael Meeks from the left wing with 9.3 seconds left to give the Seahawks a 6-5 lead. Thomas won the ensuing faceoff and raced downfield to score again with 2.6 seconds remaining for a 7-5 halftime lead — and the Seahawks never trailed again.
"It just gave us a lift," South River coach Paul Noone said.
Dylan Mansur scored two of his three goals in the third quarter as South River pressured the Broadneck defense. That made it 9-5 heading into the final period, and Jeff Hirata (three goals) added one 31 seconds into the final period to complete the five-goal run.
Varsity Highlights
Meeks had to make seven of his 12 saves in that quarter. Hayden Donnelly added one more when Meeks was out on a penalty.
"We got off some nice shots today," Noone said. "We really did. I like our kids."
Another important part of this game was faceoffs. Thomas handled those and won 20 of the 25 draws. He lost just one in the first half.
The success on faceoffs proved crucial because it let the Seahawks keep possession for very long stretches and made the Broadneck defense work. South River showed lots of patience on offense, and it repeatedly looked to find good shots.
"They had the ball the whole time," Broadneck coach Clay White said. "We didn't play well tonight. We didn't play smart at all."
The South River offense showed its balance with eight players scoring goals. Mansur and Hirata led the way with their hat tricks. Michael Ward (one goal, two assists) and Brandon Senft (one goal, one assist) also pitched in.
Chase Berquist topped Broadneck with four goals and one assist while Peter Jacobs added three goals. The Bruins also hurt their cause by turning the ball over too often, letting South River re-gain possession and hold on for long stretches.