Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:
April 4, 2012: The Langley Saxons kept unblemished their 2012 campaign results but only by the narrowest of margins in a pulsating 9-8 victory over a tenacious Palos Verdes Sea Kings squad at West Springfield on Wednesday night. The Saxons looked to have matters sealed and delivered with a 9-5 lead showing less than five minutes to the final horn, but the Sea Kings, visiting from the Los Angeles area for the West Springfield Boys Lacrosse Spring Break Invitational, had other ideas and grabbed a trio of goals to shrink the deficit to one with 37 seconds to spare in the tournament finale. A final assault on the Langley goal with 20 seconds remaining was thwarted by goalie Andrew Spivey’s 17th save of the game and alert back-up by the Saxons to preserve ball possession to the conclusion for the win.
Grant Cigliano guarded the Palos Verdes goal and was credited with ten saves but was no less busy or productive than his Langley counterpart. Five Sea Kings — all seniors — got name and number in the score log, with attacker Johnny Romer picking up a hat-trick, attacker Dean Dillenberg a pair, and middies Zack Fixen, Graham Francis and Jake Macer one apiece. Attackman Sean Ahearn provided three goals for the Saxons to go with two from fellow attacker Josh Sibio, and one each from middies Clay Rivers and Luke Salzer, and from attackers Mike Adams and J. T. Meyer.
Langley had forged a three-goal advantage late in the first half that seemed good value for what was shaping up at the time to be a low scoring affair only for Palos Verdes to erase the difference — and level at 4-4 — by the middle of the third period. The Saxons promptly rebounded with a four-goal run within a span of just over four minutes then lost their way again after the two sides traded goals halfway through the final quarter. A flurry of penalties going both ways — which included a two-man advantage for Langley for 34 seconds with less than two minutes remaining — provided the twist near the end as the Sea Kings gamely held off their opponent then managed to score what would prove to be the game’s final tally to close the gap to one goal in the waning moments to set up a frantic finish.
That final score was delivered by Palos Verdes’ Dellinger, who earlier had provided the opening salvo of the battle giving his Sea Kings the initial lead following a couple minutes of early probing by both sides to gain some measure of the night’s adversary from the opposite coast. Sibio then snared an errant clearing effort at the midfield line and produced an equalizer for the Saxons.
Rivers gave Langley the lead late in the opening quarter when the senior blasted in from 12 yards out. Ahearn then collected the first of his three for the night at the end of swift transition play starting at the other end with Spivey parrying a promising crossing pass from a Palos Verdes attacker. Junior longstickman Brad Dotson scrummed for and claimed the loose ball that he then cleared to fellow Saxon Robbie Byrne in neutral territory. The junior defender spotted the open Sibio for another pass into attack that set-up the assist from the senior for Ahearn’s finish into Cigliano’s net.
The Sea King keeper alertly blocked a close-in effort by Meyer only two minutes later but the sophomore’s initial bid rebounded straight to Ahearn, who calmly punched in from four yards out giving Langley a 4-1 advantage.
Palos Verdes pulled one back less than a minute later when Romer drilled in from eight yards getting his first of the contest. Both sides menaced the opposing defenses, and the Sea Kings enjoyed a man-advantage situation for one minute, going late into the first half but Spivey and Cigliano turned away the scoring opportunities on hand to preserve the 4-2 scoreline for the halftime break.
Sea Kings Coach Jimmy Borell, who played his high school lacrosse as a Lake Braddock Bruin, saw his troops advance on a positive course after the intermission as Fixen then Romer navigated through the Saxon defenses to deliver past Spivey to level the score just past the midpoint of the third period. Palos Verdes middies Zach Henkhaus and Sean Ahern pestered Spivey with goal attempts but both seniors were denied. Salzer came back the other way to restore the lead for Langley launching from 18 yards when gifted ample space to operate. The junior then supplied the assist for Adams to double the margin for the Saxons with the senior depositing past Cigliano early in an extra-man opportunity for Langley.
The Sea Kings were awarded a man advantage late in the third quarter but Spivey kept out the one menacing chance that emerged at his end. The Saxons then turned the action in the other direction when Meyer put Adams in fine position to flick in past Cigliano only to see the senior deploy a superb reaction move for the outstanding save.
Langley continued in the ascendancy when they added a pair of goals — from Sibio then Meyer — early in the final stanza. Francis then cranked in a 15-yarder past Spivey but that was soon matched by Ahearn’s third of the game, this on another extra-man situation for the Saxons, to set the score at 9-5. Salzer’s feed-in pass from the perimeter of the attack found its way to the Langley goal-scorer who had ghosted in from behind the cage unnoticed by the opposing defenses.
Palos Verdes had no surrender in their script, however, and embarked on a comeback bid that saw well-earned goals from Romer – his third of the evening – and Macer followed late by Dellinger’s second of the game, but in the end came up just short of forcing an overtime decision.
The win for Coach Earl Brewer’s Saxons (6-0) capped an undefeated run through the three-game tournament that included earlier triumphs of 10-2 over the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Barons (2-3) and 16-8 over the Annandale Atoms (4-4). The loss for the Sea Kings (10-2) followed a 20-5 win over host West Springfield Spartans (2-5) and a 10-9 defeat to the Westfield Bulldogs (7-2). The loss on Wednesday was the first time going back to at least 2005 that the Sea Kings have suffered defeat in consecutive games.
Palos Verdes returns to action back in California on Wednesday, April 11 in a home clash against CA Bay Region rival Culver City Centaurs (6-4) while Langley will host Liberty District opponent Madison Warhawks (5-2) on Friday, April 13.
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