Highlander Lacrosse Victorious in Arizona

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The Woodlands High School Mens Lacrosse team has returned from their Spring Break trip to Arizona having played the best high school teams the Grand Canyon State has to offer. The result? Two big wins for the Highlanders.

Game 1:

Noah Ramirez and The Woodlands Highlanders Men's D-1 lacrosse team took down Arizona powerhouse, Brophy Prep in triple overtime, 10-9.

The Woodlands started out strong on the strength of goals by Noah Ramirez and Cooper Starcke and after the first stanza the Highlanders led 2-0. To anyone watching live or on live stream, it was evident the Woodlands (5-1) was in for the fight of their lives. In not having a scouting report to study Brophy's tendencies, all coaches Keith Tintle and J.T. Arocha had to go on was that Brophy was a very successful program with excellent coaching and a solid tradition. A tradition that has run roughshod over Arizona competition for many years.

True to their form, Brophy Prep came right back in the second quarter refusing to let The Woodlands out of their sight. If we're getting technical, Brophy actually won the second quarter 2-1 on a couple of back door feeds to wide open attackmen on Matthew Nunes doorstep. Ramirez scored the lone goal in the quarter for the Highlanders.

The third quarter was nip and tuck all the way with The Woodlands keeping pace on tallies by Wes Hinchman, Sloan Steward and Starcke.

The fourth quarter saw the teams never separated by more than two goals. Starcke lit the lamp once again in the final quarter and that's when Donovan Rock got in on the act. Rock, with ice in his veins scored with three seconds remaining in the game tying things up for The Woodlands. It was D-Rock's second goal of the quarter and the two teams were headed to overtime.

The Woodlands and Brophy went scoreless in the first two overtimes. Nunes was standing on his head as was his Brophy counterpart.

Finally, in the third overtime, Nunes made a sick save, threw an outlet and The Woodlands had possession at the top of Brophy's box. This is when Grant Isika took matters into his own hands. Starting out at top-center, Isika drove right and from 30 feet out threw a laser beam to low left that the Brophy netminder couldn't have saved with a bed slat. Shortly thereafter, the Highlander bench stormed the field in jubilation.

WORTHY OF NOTE:

Connor Franklin and Ethan Triem had four caused turnovers.
David Kleinpeter gobbled up three ground balls.
Noah Ramirez had four ground balls and was all over the field for The Woodlands. When talking about the impromptu Player of the Game, Ramirez would certainly have to be in the conversation.
At D-Middie, Tobin Miller held Brophy's best offensive threats at bay playing lockdown defense in both games. Miller was up and down the field the whole trip playing a position you'd never see in the stat column. Tobin would be best described as a blue collar player.

GAME 2:

The Woodlands final game was against Desert Vista which ended in what looked like a 14-4 shellacking. However, if you were watching, DV played with heart contesting every ground ball as the Highlanders just couldn't shake them until late in the third quarter. At the half it was only 4-0 so it definitely wasn't over by any stretch of the imagination.

The Woodlands broke it open with four goals from Rock, two from Ramirez, one each from Logan Bremner, Jack O'Rourke, Garret Coleman and Nico Barefield. Blake Kalata and Nunes got on the board with an assist each.

Anonymous The Woodlands High School Lacrosse Guru Quote:

NOTE: This person will remain anonymous until after the season. Just know they watch every game...

'You couldn't say this team is loaded with state championship talent, but they do have several good players and a good amount of role players. HOWEVER, there are a ton of teams with state championship banners hanging on the walls because they saved their best play for the end of the season. That formula must include really good team chemistry.

To put it bluntly, this team could make it to a state championship game but they'd have to 'Pull a 2015'. What is that you ask? The 2015 Highlanders had few seniors but they played hard every second of every game and they loved each other from start to finish. If you take an honest look back through the years, The Woodlands has not been playing their best at the conclusion of many seasons.

In summary, because the team isn't stacked with talent they will absolutely have to Pull a 2015. Oh, you disagree? Then prove this ghost wrong!'

Woodlands HS (TX) vs Brophy Prep (AZ) | 2021 High School Highlights

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