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Dripping Springs High School lacrosse kicked off the final week of central district play with a midweek showdown at Vandegrift High School.
It was a return to the scene of the early season last-second football victory for the Tigers over the Vipers at Monroe Stadium on April 18. The question on everyone’s minds seemed to be: would this Tuesday night battle end in dramatic fashion as well?
The first quarter was all Vipers as they jumped out to a 4-1 lead. The lone Dripping Springs goal came when Kyle Parker found Walker Wright for a drop down shot from 15 yards out. The Vipers extended their lead back to four goals in the second before Brady Taylor found Parker for an outside shot and score. Soon after, Parker assisted Wright from 15 yards for the second time. Vandegrift held a 6-3 halftime advantage.
Vandegrift and Dripping Springs traded goals early in the third quarter when Parker netted his second goal. A shot by Kooper Brown deflected off the goalie, and Parker was there for the jump ball rebound and slammed it home. After the Vipers made it 6-4, momentum swung as the Tigers scored three in succession in just over a minute to take the 7-6 lead at the end of the third. Aiden Kane lulled the defender to sleep and snuck a jump shot by the goalie. He followed that by assisting both Parker and Connor Krystof. The fourth quarter remained scoreless until just over midway when the Vipers evened the game at seven. Shortly thereafter, they took the 8-7 lead. Vandegrift held possession and the lead for the majority of the remaining time. Following a timeout with seven seconds remaining in regulation, Kane brought the ball in from behind the goal. Kane ducked under his defender, got the advantage and drove to the goal and put one in on the top shelf to tie the game at the buzzer. The teams entered a sudden death overtime. It seemed destiny that the matchup would come down to a heart-pounding finish. Owen Rhodes won the critical face-off and gave the Tigers possession. An early shot just missed and possession went back to the Vipers. After a strong defensive stand, Nate Tyo delivered a pass to Noah Chomout near midfield, who fought through a host of Viper defenders and advanced it into the attacking end. Chomout drew the slide from the last defender, but he was able to finish with a shot just off the left pipe to give Dripping Springs the victory.
Rhodes went 14-5 on faceoffs and picked up 11 ground balls. Lucas Willingham had five ground balls. John Ault had six saves.
Friday, April 21, the Austin High School Maroons came to Dripping Springs for the contest. Rhodes started things off by taking the opening faceoff the distance for the first goal. Less than a minute later, Kooper Brown found Wright for a goal and a quick 2-0 advantage. Austin roared back with four straight goals before Parker scored two more for the Tigers. The Maroons led 6-4 after one. Austin extended their lead in the second before the Tigers came fighting back with two goals from Parker, two from Kane and one more from Wright. The Tigers were down 9-10 at the half.
The second half was all Austin High as the Dripping Springs offense struggled to hold possession and get shots. Parker netted his fifth goal of the night and assisted Taylor on a goal. Austin finished with the 17-11 victory. Rhodes contributed a strong faceoff performance, 21-7 while scooping up 11 ground balls. Brown had six, while Wright, Kaiden Grupp and Willingham each had four. Grupp had five saves on the night.
Dripping Springs will face Westlake High School on Wednesday, April 26 in the Central District playoff game.
