Lightning Staves Off QO Loss in Boys' Lax Title Game

In the midst of a desperate bid for a fourth-quarter Quince Orchard comeback, lightning has put the 4A-3A North Region boys’ lacrosse championship on hold until Thursday night.

The top-seeded Cougars' undefeated season hangs in the balance, trailing No. 2 Linganore 9-5 with 5:38 left to play.

QO scored first and had the lead at 2-1. Linganore drew even before the end of the first quarter, took the lead 10 seconds into the second quarter and stretched their margin to 5-2 at the half.

The Cougars closed to 5-3 less than a minute after halftime before Linganore fired in three straight goals.

Stymied all night by a Linganore defense that packed five and six defenders in front of the goal, Quince Orchard’s high-powered offense punched in a pair of goals just before the lightning delay.

This is the Cougars’ third trip to the title game in as many years. Their previous tries ended with losses to Urbana in 2009 and Thomas Johnson in 2010.

The game is set to resume at 7 p.m. at Quince Orchard. When play resumes, the Cougars (16-0) will face an uphill battle to avoid falling in their third consecutive region final.  

Linganore dumped four and five defenders in front of the goal all game long, clogging up the crease and hardly bothering to pursue attackers on the perimeter.

Yet time and again after those two early goals, Quince Orchard could only chip away at the defense’s edges, making rare forays into the middle and watching passes clang uncharacteristically off their sticks or whiz off-course into vacant patches of the field.

The Cougars’ frustration compounded through their scoreless second quarter—the only one all season—after Linganore tied the game at 2-2. Linganore’s domination in the center circle started to take its toll; two of their five first-half goals were scored within a few seconds of a face-off.

After tying the game, the Lancers scored seven of the next eight goals, reaching a 9-3 advantage on Michael Kenski’s score six seconds into the final period, his fourth goal of the game.

The Cougars haven’t minced words about their only goal this season: get back to the regional final—except this time, win it.

They were well on their way as they beat all opponents by sizeable margin. What no one knew was how the team would respond if Quince Orchard found itself in a close game.

So when the Cougars struck early against the Lancers Wednesday night, there were plenty of cheers and congratulations. But with each Lancers goal, Quince Orchard get tighter and more tense.

Students were deflated. Flustered parents wondered aloud what had happened to the Cougars’ free-wheeling, open-field style.

QO's Sean Holliday and Andrew Korol each scored a goal to pull the Cougars within four prior, stirring some excitement just before the lightning delay.