ROEBUCK, SC - With their first-round playoff victory on Wednesday night, the Boiling Springs lacrosse team set two pieces of history for their program in their 18-12 victory over Dorman as it was their first ever playoff win and was also their first victory over county rival Cavaliers.
"It's an amazing feeling to pick up our first ever playoff victory," said Bulldogs head coach Justin Mills. "These kids fought hard for all four quarters and deserve all the recognition that comes to them from this win. All season we've gotten down early but fought back and they knew it was either win or go home and they weren't going to be sent home." Boiling Springs senior Micah Shane Horton said the victory is big but says the Bulldogs still have goals left to accomplish ahead of them. "It's an incredible feeling to pick up this win and pick up not only our first win in the playoffs but also our first win over Dorman," said Horton. "To be able to help lead the team to such a big win I'm just speechless. Our journey isn't over yet and we still have a lot of lacrosse left to play." Boiling Springs brought a lot of energy from the very first faceoff, that was only added to by the large fanbase that had made the journey to Dorman and almost made it a home field advantage for the visitors. The Bulldogs used that energy to grab their first two goals of the match as Elijah Smith fired a left-handed shot into the net for a 1-0 lead just under a minute into the match before Lincoln Huskey fired a left-handed shot of his own into the net to give Boiling Springs a 2-0 lead with over ten minutes to go in the first quarter. After Dorman scored to make their lead 2-1, the Bulldogs got back-to-back goals from Huskey and Micah Shane Horton to push the Boiling Springs lead to 4-1 over the Cavaliers. Dorman scored the next five goals in the first quarter to take a 6-4 lead into the second quarter. Boiling Springs bounced back in the second quarter as Mathis Oslund (2), Chase Miller, and Huskey scored the first four goals of the second quarter to give the Bulldogs an 8-6 lead. Dorman scored the next three goals to take a 9-8 lead that looked like they were going to take into halftime until Micah Shane Horton took the faceoff and fired a right-handed shot just inside the box with seventeen seconds left in the half to tie the match at 9-9, the same score it would be when the halftime buzzer sounded. The Cavaliers took a 10-9 lead coming out of halftime but the Bulldogs outscored Dorman 5-1 the rest of the quarter to give Boiling Springs a 14-11 lead. The Bulldogs scoring got started with a right-handed goal off an assist from behind the goal to start the Boiling Springs run that also included goals from Mathis Oslund, Elijah Smith (2), and Kaden Jenkins. Dorman closed the lead to 14-12 just two minutes into the fourth quarter and that's all they'd be able to get as the Bulldogs defense swarmed the Cavaliers offense, not allowing them to score again on Wednesday night. Boiling Springs freshman goalkeeper Parker Lamb was starting his first ever playoff game on Wednesday night and finished the night with 15 saves as the Bulldogs defense controlled the net and possession of groundballs. "You can go down the list of the guys on our defense that done a great job from our freshman goalie to our starting defense," said Mills. "That was the difference tonight as our defense showed up and just showed out especially the freshman goalie playing in his first ever playoff game." Boiling Springs senior defenseman Jordan Reid said that the victory is special as a senior and that the defense's lockdown in the fourth quarter comes from their bond as a team and being able to communicate without even saying a word. "It's unbelievable to pick up this win because we have a great group here that's like a brotherhood," said Reid. "Our defense to me is the best in the state this year as we all form well together. We communicate well together even when we're not speaking because we know what the other guy is thinking and that comes from the bond we've built over time." The Bulldogs added four more goals over the final eight minutes in the fourth quarter as Elijah Smith added two more goals, for five goals on the night, as well as goals from Chase Miller and Kaden Jenkins. Boiling Springs will now move to the second round of the 5A playoffs as they travel to JL Mann for a match that is scheduled to start at 3:00 PM and it's a match Mills and his team are looking forward to playing. "It's amazing to be moving on to the second round of the playoffs," said Mills. Comments are closed.
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