EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y. – Rylan Padelford scored with 4 minutes, 45 seconds left to play to snap a 9-9 tie and send the Wahconah boys lacrosse team on to a 10-9 win over Columbia on Saturday afternoon.
Jonathan Howard scored four goals and assisted on two more, and Bryce Smith stopped seven shots as Wahconah evened its record at 1-1.
“After our last game, we wanted to show a lot of toughness today,” Wahconah coach Matt Fisher said. “We just wanted to get out here and play our brand of lacrosse, which is tough, fast and smart, especially.
“I think bringing them out of state, we saw a different kind of test today. I’m proud of the boys, how they fought to the end. We battled the elements, we battled some injuries, but we came out on top.”
Wahconah overcame an early two-goal deficit in a game that went back and forth from there with six ties and no leads of more than two goals.
It was a strong showing for Division 2 Wahconah after it dropped an 18-9 decision at D2 Minnechaug in its opener.
“We give each other good looks,” Howard said. “Everyone on our offense can score. Our defense did a great job holding them to only nine goals. Bryce [Smith] had a good game in goal. Noah [Poirier] had a great game at [faceoff].”
The Blue Devils jumped on top early, scoring twice in the first four minutes.
Sawyer Padelford (two goals, two assists) got the visitors on the board seven minutes into the game, but Columbia cashed in a turnover in the midfield to score in the closing minutes of the period and take a 3-1 lead into the second.
Wahconah scored two man-up goals in the first two minutes of the second quarter to tie it, and it took its first lead midway through the quarter after Howard scored two straight to make it 5-4.
Columbia got some late momentum with a pair of goals in the 22nd minute of the game to go ahead, 6-5, but the Blue Devils drew a late penalty that proved costly.
First, Rylan Padelford scored his first of the game to tie it. Then Poirier won the ensuing faceoff and raced in to set up Zachary Flaherty for a goal – Wahconah’s second in a span of seven seconds – to send Columbia into the break down, 7-6.
Wahconah went up by two in the third quarter on goals from Devin Langerwall and Howard. But Columbia scored with 9.1 seconds left in the period to go into the fourth down one, 9-8.
Three minutes into the fourth, it looked like Wahconah would get a golden opportunity to expand its lead when Columbia drew a slashing penalty, but an unsportsmanlike call against Wahconah on the same play meant a player from each side went to the box. And on the resulting 5-on-5, Columbia scored to tie it with 8:27 left on the clock.
With 7:30 left, Howard fired a shot on goal that Theodore Kerber turned aside for one of his 13 saves.
Then with just less than five minutes to go, Rylan Padelford took a pass from Easton Anello high on the left wing, worked around one defender and ripped a low line drive shot around another into the back of the net to put Wahconah ahead for good, 10-9.
Wahconah got a couple of man-up chances in the last five minutes but mostly maintained possession, running the clock and taking a couple of shots when the defense allowed. Columbia got the ball a couple of times, but Howard forced two turnovers in the midfield in the final two minutes to help deny the Devils another good look at the goal.
“I trust the defense 100 percent,” Fisher said. “We have a great core down there, a goalie in Bryce Smith. He made the guys stay big, stay confident.
“We practice every day on situations like these, and I trust these guys, no matter what the time is, what the score is, we’ll stay strong.”
Wahconah Monday plays its third road game to open the season when it visits West Springfield.
