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Speers Scores As Time Expires To Lift RC Boys To 11-10 Win
Quincy Speers’ goal as time expired lifted the Rockbridge County High School boys lacrosse team to a thrilling 11-10 road win over Blacksburg last Wednesday.
Speers, a junior midfielder, beat his defender one-onone and buried a shot from 10 yards out as the Wildcats (1-4) collected their first victory of the season in dramatic fashion.
Andrew Kelly had tied the game with just 24.5 seconds to go, receiving a feed from John Brooke and firing in a close-range laser to pull the ’Cats even at 10-10.
The two late goals for RC capped o ff a s eesaw b attle with the Bruins, who entered the game with a 3-0 record. Blacksburg would improve to 4-1 with a 14-3 win over Hidden Valley on Thursday.
Jack Jensen posted 13 saves for the Wildcats, and the RC attack – which had been shut out in its previous two games – generated the goals necessary to hang with the Bruins. Head coach Jay Whitelock said that he and assistant coach George Ray “commended the team’s effort and determination to persevere, which was key in Rockbridge getting their first win of the season.”
Malcolm Forbes and Trenten Cash opened the scoring for the Wildcats, and Jayden Layman contributed a pair of early goals. The two teams proceeded to trade blows throughout a close game.
With 3:38 remaining in the fourth quarter, Brooke scored to pull RC even at 8-8. Speers then put the Wildcats ahead with about three minutes to go.
But Blacksburg tied things up at the 2:41 mark, and the Bruins then took a 10-9 lead on an extra-man goal with 1:28 to play, setting the stage for the ’Cats’ late heroics.
In addition to RC’s clutch offense and Jensen’s play in goal, Whitelock lauded the performance of Jackson Speers – the senior brother of the decisive goal scorer – for picking up several key ground balls on the defensive end.
Salem 15, RC 0
Just two nights earlier, Salem dealt RC a 15-0 defeat in Lexington.
Holden Custer tallied seven goals to lead the undefeated Spartans (4-0) to the shutout win in last Monday’s meeting. Kaidan Garst contributed three goals and two assists, while Dakotah Hawkins notched one goal and three helpers.
Kelly won 10-of-17 faceoffs for the Wildcats, and Jensen made 11 saves in three quarters of action. But RC turned the ball over 30 times, and Salem held a hefty 53-7 advantage in shots.
The Spartans led just 3-0 after the first quarter, but their offense cranked into gear in the second period. Custer recorded the final six goals of the half as Salem built up a 10-0 cushion by the break.
While the Wildcats took much better care of the ball in the second half – RC turned it over 21 times across the first two periods, reducing that number to nine following the intermission – they could only generate four shot attempts during that time. Richard Hof, who played the first three quarters in goal for the Spartans, needed to make just three saves to help his team record the clean sheet.
Jackson Wininger posted one goal and two assists for Salem, and Ty Hicklin chipped in two goals. The Spartans crafted a 29-19 advantage in ground balls and committed only 15 turnovers themselves.
RC will travel to Jefferson Forest this evening before returning home to face Charlottesville on Thursday. Junior varsity action begins at 5:30 p.m. on both nights.
