by Parma Heights, OH- In a game that seemed destined to be all Lakewood, Holy Name came away with the win 5-3 after an offensive explosion in the second half.
The first quarter saw the Green Wave have the same offensive struggles that plauged them against Elyria Catholic two days prior. However, this time it was because the offense moved slowly. Very few shots were taken in the first as the opportunities never came. Even when HN had chances, Chris Mathios was a brick wall in between the sticks for the Rangers. Around five minutes into the game, Lakewood had a breakaway chance on the far flank that led to Malachai Davis besting Peter Rose for the Rangers’ opening goal. A few more chances came for Lakewood as their D-poles dominated the attack of the Green and White, leading to breakaways. Still, Rose held up and kept the score at 1-0 heading into the second.
While there was no scoring in the second quarter, Lakewood still won the frame. Holy Name’s Xavier Rodriguez is known for his physicality, but frustration got the better of him early. With 7:11 left to play in the first half, Rodriguez had three penalty minutes to his name. Overall, the Green Wave surrendered 14 penalties that resulted in 15 penalty minutes. Still, the defense did just enough to keep the Rangers within one. Heading into the locker room, a lot had to be discussed with Lakewood leading 1-0.
The Rangers weren’t done scoring heading into the third. In the first half, there was one combined goal. In the second half, seven shots found the back of the net combined. David Burns found Lakewood’s second as he was hit to the ground. Leiland Walker was the culprit. However, an added taunt from Walker led to him being in the box for three minutes. As for Rodriguez, he received another penalty early in the quarter to give him four total minutes. With his back against the wall and one minute away from being ejected, he settled down and put on a show. Before that could begin, Davis found his second goal of the game for Lakewood. With around two minutes left in the third, Kasey Estep chased down a ground ball and barely kept it in play with a no-look launch into space. However, Andrew Norris was in that space for the Green and White. The pass found him perfectly, leading to him finding Rodriguez near the goal. This was the spark the offense needed as he slotted home the ball with ease. Heading into the fourth, HN had plenty of work to do down 3-1.
19 seconds into the fourth quarter, Phoenix Hegyi finally found his goal as he brought the game within one. Then, both Rose and Mathios stood tall in between their respective goals and did a stellar job not letting anything past them. However, the Green and White found a way to break down the latter. With 6:51 left in regulation, Hegyi found his second goal of the night to tie the game up at three. Just over a minute and a half later, Rodriguez would give HN the lead with 5:10 to go. 23 seconds later, his hat-trick would be complete. In the end, the Namers did not give up on the game as they earned the 5-3 victory.
While it may have been sloppy at times, the Holy Name Green Wave still got the win. Something snapped in this team with 14 minutes left to play and they never looked back. They will have time to rest up before traveling to Cleveland Heights on April 9. As for Lakewood, this was their game until the momentum quickly shifted towards the end. They played their hearts out and almost pulled off the incredible upset. Up next for the Rangers is a trip to Keystone on April 4.
Lakewood Key Players
#5 Malachai Davis: 2 Goals
#8 David Burns: 1 Goal
#10 Chris Mathios: Many Saves
Holy Name Key Players
#1 Peter Rose: Many Saves (Book said 13, but it is many more)
#4 Xavier Rodriguez: 3 Goals
#11 Phoenix Hegyi: 2 Goals
Honorable Mention: #13 Kasey Estep: Kept ball in play for first goal build up
Player of the Game: Peter Rose
