GREENWOOD – The Peach Belt Division Championship Game came down to the last shot on Saturday afternoon at Van Taylor Stadium, but Lander came up shy of forcing overtime and took an 11-10 loss to Flagler.
After
Nicholas Paige corralled an errant Saints pass with 30 seconds to go in the game, Lander (9-7) cleared the ball and took a timeout to set up the final offensive possession.
Carter Wilcox made some nifty moves out of the break and created enough separation to get a clean shot off, but it went just high of the net with one second left.
Wilcox had brought the game back within a goal with four minutes to play following three straight Flagler (14-2) goals that gave them their first lead early in the fourth.
The Bearcats started out hot and grabbed a 4-0 lead five minutes into the game with goals from
Bradley Brown,
Levi Roest,
Michael Mattaliano and Wilcox. They maintained a 6-5 advantage by the time the first-half horn sounded.
Zane Dalpe converted on the man-advantage two minutes into the third to increase the lead to a pair.
Chase Hanson took a Brown pass and fired home a goal of his own a few minutes later to push it to 8-5.
The Saints closed the quarter with a buzzer-beater and tied the game at nine in the process to set up the dramatic fourth.
Paige had a stout performance in goal for the Bearcats that featured 13 saves, a caused turnover and three ground balls. He had a .542 save percentage.
As is customary in these teams' matchups, they were very evenly matched as Flagler held a slight 38-36 margin in shots while both had 24 on goal.
The Selection Show for the 2025 NCAA Division-II Men's Lacrosse Championship is on Sunday, May 4.
