ORANGE — Woodberry Forest’s Ade Oyalowo saw it coming. The Flint Hill player didn’t.
“It started with the takeaway by Tyler Houston,” Oyalowo said. “Once I saw the ball (out), I had a clear lane and I knew the guy was going to turn around and try and get it back to the goal real quick. I had to time it up just as he turned around.”
Owalyo smashed into the Flint Hill midfielder, dislodged the ball and ended Flint Hill’s possession. The hit with three seconds left snuffed out a Flint Hill opportunity to tie up the game and secured a 6-5 win for Woodberry. The hit also left one Woodberry players particularly relieved.
“I was standing five feet away and that saved me because I turned it over and if they’d scored it was on me,” said senior Hatcher Williams. “But Ade’s been doing that, he just blows people up.”
Two goals each from Mark Monroe and Griffin Burke led the way offensively for the Tigers, while Williams dished out three assists and scored a goal of his own. Monroe had an assist as well.
Woodberry seemed ready to get a fast start in the opening half and they needed it against Flint Hill goalie Chris Nelson, who earned all-state honors as a junior. James Malm, a Johns Hopkins commit, managed to break through for the Tigers in the first quarter, but only after a pair of shots went off the pipe for Woodberry, and Flint Hill managed to even the score before the end of the first frame. The game remained deadlocked at the half, with both squads trading goals in the second quarter. But Woodberry owned the majority of the second half.
After Flint Hill took a brief one-goal lead in the third, Woodberry ripped off four straight scores, starting with an unassisted finish by Burke that tied the game. Williams followed with a goal before Monroe scored and Burke capped the run with another goal off a Williams assist. By the end of the run, Woodberry led 6-3 and seemed to be in control.
But Flint Hill rallied with two straight, and the Huskies double teamed Williams to force a turnover on a restart with under a minute to play. Flint Hill raced downfield, but Woodberry’s defense held strong, with Oyalowo laying the monster hit to finish off the stand.
Evan Bozymski picked up 10 ground balls to lead Woodberry in that category, and the Tigers got a strong effort defensively from Travis Houston, who played a critical role in the transition game. Houston, who’s also a solid football player, is a typical example of most of Woodberry’s standouts on the lacrosse field.
“I think one of the things you’re seeing is that our guys who starting and playing are all multi-sport athletes,” said Woodberry coach Brian Hemming. “It’s nice to see these guys come out here because the experiences they had in the fall and winter, they help here.”
Woodberry hits the road to take on Christchurch Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
