The Middle School lacrosse team capped off a great season this past weekend with a strong performance in the league playoffs. The team began its playoff run with a 14-3 victory over Blessed Trinity last Thursday night at Whitefield Stadium. The WolfPack struck early, going up 4-1 in the first quarter, and took a 7-3 lead into halftime. The WolfPack defense, led by a strong seven-save performance by Bradley Washington (8th), stepped up and shut out Blessed Trinity in the second half while the offense added seven more goals. Brad Becker (7th) led the scoring with six goals. Sid Brendel (8th) added three goals and two assists; Jonathan Wood (8th) contributed three goals and one assist; Mitchell Ryan (8th) had one goal and one assist; and Robert Matherne (6th) had one goal.
The win on Thursday earned the team a berth in the Final Four hosted at Whitefield stadium on Saturday. The WolfPack faced a strong team from Fellowship Christian in its semi-final match. The Fellowship Paladins had defeated the WolfPack twice previously and were the only league team the WolfPack had not earned a win against during the regular season. Wills McCutcheon (7th) anchored the nets with a seven-save performance in the first half, while Jonathan, Sam Hamilton (8th), Carter Dixon (8th), Connor Callan (8th), Mitchell, and Josh Turner (8th) went toe-to-toe with a tough Paladin midfield to take a 4-3 lead into the half. In the second half, Carson Brown (8th), Brenner McCutcheon (8th), and Joseph Schwarz (7th) held off a strong Paladin attack line while Bradley turned in four key saves in the cage. Sid, Jonathan, and Brad all found the back of the net to secure a final 7-6 victory for the WolfPack. Jonathan led the scoring with four goals.
The second playoff win earned the team a rematch with Sutton Middle School Cougars in the league championship game. The WolfPack had gone one-and-one with Sutton in two close games during the regular season, but now faced the challenge of playing them immediately after a grueling first game against the Paladins. An early goal from Jonathan gave the team a 1-0 lead after the first quarter, and Brad chipped in two more in the second, but Sutton fired back with a couple goals of their own and then added three quick transition goals before the half to go up 5-3. Sutton pulled away further in the third quarter, as the WolfPack started to feel the impact of playing back-to-back games. Despite a beautiful behind the back goal from Carter in the fourth quarter, Sutton's depth proved too much for a tired WolfPack team as the Cougars pulled away to an eventual 11-5 win.
The Middle School team finished its season with a 14-5 overall record, a dramatic turnaround from its two win season the prior year, and took home the Runner-Up trophy in the Atlanta Middle School Boy's Lacrosse League for 2013. A huge congratulations to everyone on the team. Way to go, Pack!