It was a busy night at Meridian High School on Tuesday, and the Mustang boys’ soccer team’s 5-0 victory over Brentsville in the Regional Semifinals was only the warmup act. Once the field was cleared, it was the boys’ lacrosse squad’s turn to face off against the Warriors of Western Albemarle, this one for the Region 4B championship. The weather was perfect and the stands were packed, with many of the soccer families and members of additional Meridian athletic programs sticking around to support their fellow Mustangs.
It was a fast start for the home team, as Davey Gaskins got the Mustangs on the board halfway through the first period, and additional tallies by Xavier Kuo and Gaskins again gave Meridian a 3-0 lead at the conclusion of the low-scoring opening frame. But Western Albemarle fought back, scoring three in a row to start the second, and it was nearly four in a row had they not missed a wide open net early in the quarter. Colin Williams would put the Mustangs back in front with two minutes left, and a massive goal by Jack Moore in the closing seconds of the half gave Meridian a 5-3 lead at the intermission.
The teams traded goals throughout the third, and early in the fourth, Western Albemarle knotted the score once again at seven apiece. It would stay that way until just over five minutes remaining in the game when Granger Davig scored a massive goal on the break following some great defense by his teammates, and he’d add another with two minutes to go to provide some insurance. But the Warriors immediately got one back, forcing Meridian to stay aggressive, and just when it looked like they would try to stall the ball for the remainder of the clock, Davig tacked on one more for good measure just inside the final fifteen seconds.
The 10-8 final score brings Meridian its first regional championship for boys’ lacrosse in program history, while improving the squad to 12-5 on the season. Head coach Will Stewart noted the gravity of the win postgame especially after the team had come up short in the Regional Finals the past couple years, and credited their resilience in an upset road victory over Monticello in the Semifinals last Friday to put themselves in this position.
That Monticello win punched Meridian’s ticket to States, regardless of Tuesday’s outcome. Now the Mustangs will be hosting their State Quarterfinal matchup on Friday against Monacan, and no matter their fate from there, they’ll have a trophy to hang onto.
