CREVE COEUR – Priory senior Mick Murphy suspected the worst.
During a lacrosse game on April 1, Murphy fell to the turf grasping his left knee in a scene that had every indication of a serious injury.
“When I first went down, I was like, ‘I really hope this isn’t it,’” Murphy said.
Tests showed bone bruising but no ligament damage. He missed Priory’s next three games and played limited minutes in a fourth.
In his first full game back on Thursday, his contributions were limitless.
Murphy scored three goals, including a leaping, overtime game-winner, as Priory erased a three-goal deficit in the final two minutes to shock CBC 10-9 at Todd Stadium.
Priory (9-3) defeated CBC for the fourth consecutive time, with three games decided by one-goal margins.
“It was the same (close) game it always is, and that’s what you want,” CBC coach Mike Liebreich said.
A thrilling finish did not seem plausible after CBC exploded for six goals in the fourth quarter to take a commanding 9-6 lead. But with less than two minutes remaining, the Ravens began gently rapping at the chamber door.
Senior Will Puschel found Sam Jung at the side of the cage at the 1:38 mark to break a six-minute scoring drought and give the Ravens a glimmer of hope.
“We were starting to write ourselves off, but we kept fighting and stayed in it,” Puschel said.
On the next Priory possession, Murphy received the ball behind the cage, sprinted to the front, rose in the air and fired a laser into the net to slice the deficit to 9-8 with 52 seconds remaining.
It was the same ‘question mark’ move Murphy executed to score the game-winner against CBC in a state quarterfinal victory last season.
“Full circle moment,” Murphy said.
Game story from Priory 2024 state quarterfinal victory over CBC: https://metrosportsstl.com/2024/05/18/priory-mounts-final-defensive-stand-to-hold-off-cbc-advance-to-first-class-2-semifinal/
An errant CBC pass gave Priory one final chance. With time ticking away, the Ravens patiently worked the ball to senior Jack Parent, who spotted a shooting lane and tied the game at 9 with 17.1 seconds left.
“We started to share the ball a little more, we had our heads up in transition and ground balls started coming our way,” Priory coach Tyler Orf said. “They worked hard with grit and determination and they dug it out in the end.”
In overtime, Priory earned possession and immediately called timeout to design a play for Murphy. The senior captain, who had been receiving attention from a trainer throughout the game, felt compelled to exercise his veto power.
“I told the coaches that I didn’t want the play to revolve around me, but if I got the ball and had to be that guy, I will be,” Murphy said.
The ball circled to Murphy behind the net, and he became that guy.
He raced to the side of the cage, leaped in the air, and fired home the game-winner on the first possession of overtime.
“It speaks a lot to the character of this team – to stay in it, keep our composure and not get down on ourselves,” senior Eli Foss said.
Foss, who scored a career-high six goals in a win over Eureka on April 12, is one of several Ravens who elevated their games during Murphy’s absence.
On Thursday, Foss scored a pair of first half goals to stake the Ravens to a 4-2 halftime lead.
“Dare I say, we lean on Mick as a crutch sometimes, so with him out of the lineup, we had to adjust. Guys who are usually midfielders moved down in the attack, and honestly, it helped improve our team,” Foss said. “A lot of chemistry was built between the other guys, and then when Mick got back, we were more refined.”
The plan was to ease Murphy into the lineup against Parkway West on April 17 by playing him only during man-up situations, but when Priory fell behind by five goals, that plan changed.
Murphy scored twice in the second half and helped Priory earn a come-from-behind, 11-10 victory over the Longhorns.
“He is energy and hustle. He works so hard all the time,” Orf said. “When he’s playing confidently and confident in his teammates, we’re a better team across the board.”
With Murphy available from the start of the game against CBC on Thursday, Priory played more efficiently and maintained lengthy possessions. A brilliant,16-save performance by Colin Pim and uncharacteristic errors by CBC helped the Ravens carry a 5-3 lead into the fourth quarter.
“We had a lot of unforced turnovers, and we identified that we just weren’t thinking things through,” Liebreich said. “I used the analogy of lizard brain versus wizard brain. I told them they were using their lizard brain, where you don’t process anything. I said, ‘You are not in danger of being eaten by dinosaurs. Start using your wizard brain,’ and then it flipped.”
A one-minute un-releasable penalty assessed to Priory resulted in three CBC goals in 36 seconds. Tough-nosed goals by Logan Workes and Phil Jakubowski and stellar defensive work by Donnie Davidson helped CBC build a seemingly insurmountable 9-6 lead in the final two minutes.
“We had a couple of lapses and all of a sudden, they score three goals and we have to try to find our footing,” Orf said. “Offensively, I told them that they had to trust each other. We were playing too much hero ball, dodge, redodge, redodge, and I think that resonated.”
It resonated in the form of three goals in a span of 1:38, and in overtime, when Priory needed a hero, Murphy turned his black knee sleeve into a flowing cape.
“That was a really great team win. It’s a shame we dig these deficits for ourselves, but we know we can come back from them,” Murphy said.
He added, “Now I’m due for an ice bath.”
Photo gallery at: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/2024-Boys-Lacrosse/Boys-Lacrosse-2025/CBC-at-Priory-4-24-25