The promising postseason run continued on Tuesday afternoon for the Meridian High School boys’ lacrosse team, who beat Monacan 19-7 last Friday to set up a rematch with the Captains of Loudoun County, the team that eliminated them in the first round of the State playoffs a season ago. The battle-tested Mustangs would figure to be a much tougher out this time around, despite being on the road in Leesburg, and the Falls Church faithful did them a favor by showing up in full force.
Meridian came storming out of the gates, as Xavier Kuo opened the scoring only 23 seconds in and Colin Williams doubled the advantage just prior to the two minute mark. Loudoun County fought back by earning the next pair of tallies, and the teams traded goals throughout the remainder of the first quarter with Meridian leading 4-3 at the end of twelve minutes. The second period saw scoring much harder to come by, thanks in large part to the Mustang defense coming up with some huge stops during lengthy Loudoun County possessions, and the teams went into the break knotted at five apiece.
The Mustangs began the third quarter the exact same way they began the first, with a Kuo goal to break the tie in the opening minute (from nearly the same spot on the field, at that) and minutes later Davey Gaskins drove one in to make it 7-5. But the Captains would take control, accounting for six of the game’s next seven tallies spanning the end of the third and most of the fourth to take a 11-8 lead late in the going. Still refusing to go away quietly, Meridian got much-needed goals from Williams with just under four minutes left and Gaskins with less than 90 seconds to go to bring them back within one, and with six seconds remaining, Gaskins came up clutch once again to send the game to overtime.
Unfortunately, the comeback would fall short as Loudoun County scored just less than a minute into the extra frame, bringing down the curtains to a final score of 12-11. That ends the Mustangs’ season with a record of 13-6, but alas, there is no shame at all to be had in what the team accomplished this spring, earning Meridian’s first ever Regional championship for boys’ lacrosse and coming within a few bounces of pulling off a road upset to reach the State Finals.
Gaskins’ three goals led the way for the Mustangs, while Kuo, Williams, Jack Moore, and Granger Davig all had two. Congratulations to them, their teammates, and all others involved in the Meridian boys’ lacrosse program on a truly unforgettable season.
