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Last weekend, the Dripping Springs boys lacrosse team traveled to Katy, a suburb just outside of Houston, for the South Super-Regional.
On a characteristically muggy afternoon, the Tigers took on St. John XXIII College Preparatory’s Mavericks. Owen Rhodes kicked things off with a faceoff win — his first of 19 in the afternoon.
A few minutes later, Noah Chomout got the scoring started when Brady Taylor found him in front of the crease for a goal. The Mavericks came back scoring two straight, midway through the quarter. The Tigers tied it back up with Nate Tyo, who picked up a loose ball on the defensive end, out-raced his man to the other end of the field and fired it past the keeper for a “pole goal.” Seconds later, Rhodes won the faceoff and advanced it to Aiden Kane, who drew the double team and found an open Walker Wright for the goal. Closing out the first quarter, Kane again worked his magic, pulled the extra defender and found Wright, who dodged a slide and finished on the crease. At the end of one period, Dripping Springs led 4-2.
To start the second quarter, Rhodes won the faceoff but, this time, faked the pass and took it himself for the goal. Scoring then slowed for both teams. The Mavericks picked up two goals mid-quarter, cutting the lead to 5-4. With under a minute in the half, Jake Stockton found Wright for his third goal of the half. The Tigers quickly took possession and played for the final shot. Kane ripped a shot to the top shelf with three seconds remaining, giving the Tigers the 7-4 halftime lead.
The Mavericks made a goalie change near halftime, and with that change, the goal got much smaller for the Tigers. While their barrage of shots continued, they struggled to finish for goals. The Mavericks scored three in the third period to knot things up at 7-7 heading into the final period. Shortly into the fourth, the Mavericks scored and took their first lead of the game. This continued until just over five minutes remained. A shot was saved by Tiger goalie Kaiden Grupp, who then jogged the ball up field looking for the clear. A strong ride for the Mavs did not give Grupp an option on the receiving end. He crossed midfield with the ball and was at the point of no return. Grupp picked up speed, dodged a defender and scored the rare goalie goal to tie the game. With three minutes remaining, the Mavericks scored and took the lead for good. The Tigers’ season came to an end, falling 10-8.
Rhodes led the team in ground balls with 10, followed by Lucas Willingham with nine. Eight different Tigers forced turnovers in the game. Grupp ended with nine saves.
Season accolades were handed out with three players receiving honors. Rhodes and Kane both brought home All-State recognition at their respective positions, while Kyle Parker received All-District.
