Eric Fitz factored in on seven goals, scoring four and assisting on three, to lead the Leesville lacrosse team to its first playoff win in program history.
Fed by the energy of an engaged Friday night crowd, the Pride (15-1) surged to a decisive 6-0 lead after the first quarter and coasted to a 16-10 victory over visiting Green Hope (10-7).
“We executed early and that’s what you have to do in games like this,” said Fitz, a junior. “The hot start just starts a great precedent to get a good game going in front of you.”
Conner New, senior captain, recorded a goal and an assist during Leesville’s early eruption but went down midway through the second quarter after taking an illegal cross-check to the arm. The game was chippy throughout, with a plethora of fouls called on both sides; New did not return after his injury, but head coach Franklin Zirkle noted that his team, however, was able to recover from the deflating moment.
“It took a little air out of our sails when Conner [New] went down, [but then] we recalibrated a little bit,” Zirkle said. “I thought the guys, when they bought in to our offensive schemes early on, were lethal.”
Griffin McNamara, junior, scored his second of three goals on the night in the final second of the first half to give Leesville a 7-1 advantage at the break. The game opened up even more in the third quarter, as the Pride surged to a 12-2 lead but saw it cut to 12-6 by quarter’s end. The Pride then cruised to the eventual six-point win during the final frame.
Fitz and McNamara combined for seven goals, three assists and 17 shots. Parker Beebe, Alex Shearer, Andrew Crane, Cody Snyder, Cory Subasic and Davis Sampere all also scored for Leesville. Graham Holmes made 10 saves in goal.
Zirkle credited Sampere’s excellent faceoff acumen as a big factor why the team was able to protect their early lead. “When you know you’ve got Davis Sampere facing off where you know you’re going to have the ball about 80% of the time, which means you just have to work the possessions (to maintain the lead),” he said.
McNamara noted the support of a relatively full Looneyville as another significant impact. “I’d like to thank the fans for coming out. We came out with the momentum from the fans and it was really just unstoppable from there once we got the first goal,” he said.
Leesville will host East Chapel Hill (12-4), which beat Panther Creek 9-3 on Friday, on Tuesday in the next round of the playoffs.
