CREVE COEUR – Even the play that never seems to work, worked.
After Priory obtained the ball with more than a minute remaining in the first half, the Ravens made the oft, ill-fated decision to try to hold it for the final shot.
“There really wasn’t a play drawn up. Our goal was to move the ball fast, keep the defenders cycling and try to catch them off-guard,” junior Mick Murphy said.
Murphy scored with less than a second remaining to complete a near-perfect first half and help Priory defeat Lafayette 7-2 Friday at Todd Stadium.
Priory (6-2), which is off to its best start since 2019, defeated Lafayette for the first time in their four meetings dating back to 2014.
The sidearm sling by Murphy concluded a first half in which Priory stayed one step ahead of the red-hot Lancers, which were coming off an 11-6 victory over defending state champion De Smet two days earlier.
In the first quarter, Lafayette (6-3) locked off the dangerous Murphy with the smothering defense of senior Cam Callahan, who followed him everywhere, including remote corners of the field.
It set up a 5-on-5 scenario that forced other Ravens to generate offense – and senior Grant McGowan and junior Mark Parent obliged.
Parent assisted senior Cole Clinton to open the scoring, then drove down the alley to score his own goal. When McGowan deposited a shot in the final minute, Priory opened a 3-0 lead by possessing the ball for almost the entirety of the first quarter.
“We practiced all week for what would happen if they locked off one of our players,” McGowan said. “We anticipated it and we were ready.”
Priory may not have anticipated having a two-man disadvantage early in the second quarter, after crosscheck and tripping calls put a pair of Ravens in the penalty box.
The Lancers had their first moments of sustained pressure and unleashed shot after shot. The crossbar musically denied rockets from Matt Reynolds and Jack Behl, and Priory goalie Colin Pim calmly denied another pair of zingers to keep Lafayette off the scoreboard.
“We did a good job of keeping our shape, we didn’t get too drawn out,” Pim said of the two-man-down situation. “We’ve been working on our (defensive) rotations trying to prep for these scenarios and we played it perfectly.”
Reynolds scored on a subsequent, man-up situation to provide the first goal for the Lancers with 2:17 remaining in the half, but the dagger was in the hands of Murphy.
Priory obtained the ball with 1:19 on the clock and worked the ball around the perimeter, completing dozens of passes. With the scoreboard on the opposite end of the stadium, the Ravens did not see the seconds ticking down.
With four seconds left, sophomore Sam Jung crossed paths with Murphy and both Lafayette defenders went towards Jung.
“I noticed I had a little bit of extra space, called for the pass and took the shot,” Murphy said. “I didn’t know it was under a second.”
Murphy’s goal with .9 seconds remaining in the half gave Priory a 5-1 lead and sent the teams into halftime with vastly different moods.
“That’s definitely a nail in the coffin,” Lafayette coach Jason Seidel said of the buzzer-beater.
In the second half, Priory continued to force turnovers, scoop ground balls and maintain possession. Senior Will Puschel collected a rebound and scored three minutes into the third quarter for Priory’s sixth goal. Junior Eli Foss became the sixth different goal-scorer for the Ravens, bravely absorbing hits to finish a set-up from McGowan.
“(Priory) did a great job of executing their game plan, holding onto the ball, keeping possession, and it tired our defense out too quickly,” said Seidel, who spent two seasons as a Lafayette assistant before becoming the Lancers’ head coach this season.
Seidel replaced retired coach Ren Pettinelli, who is the all-time leader in wins in the state of Missouri and a member of the National Interscholastic Lacrosse Coaches Association (NILCA) Hall of Fame.
A former head coach at Chaminade, Seidel has already led the Lancers to early-season, signature wins over defending state champion De Smet and over his former team, the Red Devils.
“It’s a good bunch. We’re growing, we’re developing as a team. We have a good vibe, a good chemistry,” Seidel said.
The chemistry displayed from Priory – a mixture of patient offense, solid defense and lights-out goalkeeping – has propelled the Ravens to a 6-2 start, their best record since starting the 2019 season with a 9-0 mark.
“We’ve had some losses we wish we could get back, but we’ve maintained our energy and we come out firing the next day at practice,” Murphy said. “We lift each other up, we put energy and effort in everything we do, and it correlates to our game.”
And the law for Murphy and the Ravens on Friday was that everything that could go right, did go right.
Photos available for purchase at https://benvessa.smugmug.com/2024-Boys-Lacrosse/Lafayette-vs-Priory-4-12-2014