Hill Academy Lacrosse wins 1st ever North American Lacrosse Invitational
The Hill Academy played in the first ever North American Lacrosse Invitational (NALI) on May 21-22. The gathering included 8 teams from four different states, and one province. The field included state champions, league champions, and many high level division one prospects. The teams played each other in the regular season to determine the seeding of the invitational. This was the first chance for The Hill Academy Varsity Lacrosse program to play in a championship event and the team was excited and eager to leave their mark.
The Hill Academy played a great game in the semifinals and defeated Western Reserve Academy 15-7 to earn a championship match-up with Culver Academy.
In the championship game The Hill Academy players were clearly focused and determined storming out from the opening face off to a 5-0 start, before eventually leading 7-3 after one quarter of play.
NALI Defensive MVP Senior LSM Tyler Gillian said; "We came in with the attitude to win. We came here to win, everyone was on board with the game plan and there were no passengers. We stayed on task and were focused from the moment we left to the moment we arrived."
Both sides' traded two goals apiece in the second quarter and The Hill had a comfortable 9-5 lead going into halftime.
The third quarter was marred by penalties and Culver Academy made a run as The Hill played the majority of the quarter a man down. The third quarter ended with The Hill holding a 10-7 advantage.
In the fourth quarter The Hill used stifling defense and crisp offensive execution to make a 4-0 run and win the first ever NALI championship, 14-7. NALI Offensive MVP Senior Captain Reilly O'Connor scored three of his six goals in the fourth quarter, forever cementing his legacy at The Hill Academy. Every time Culver knocked on the door, O'Connor answered emphatically. O'Connor said of his performance; "I just thought that it was my last year and I wanted to go out the right way and I gave it all I had."
Clearly Hill Academy Sophomore midfielder Zach Miller's ability to dominate face-offs was instrumental in The Hills' success on the weekend. "Zach Miller is a beauty; he came up huge on the weekend. He was probably the reason we were able to win the finals, he took every face off and stuck two unreal goals," said O'Connor.
In addition to O'Connor and Miller the Hill were led by seniors Bryan Cole, Kyle Whitlow, Kyle Jackson and Zach Herreweyers. Cole (3assists) was the offensive catalyst, constantly drawing double teams and sparking the offensive ball movement. Whitlow shot the ball well and quarterbacked the offense ending the game with 2 goals and 3 assists. Jackson played every wing, offense and defense displaying heart and energy all over field ending the game with a goal and an assist. Herreweyers chipped in two goals.
Defensively the team was led by senior defender Tyler Gilligan. Gilligan was dominant on the wing during face-offs and played a key role in the transition game. Furthermore, Sean Young, Tim Kulp, Leo Stouros, Derek Thomas, Ray Bannister, Tyler Fleury, and goalie Drew Tyrell were important in orchestrating huge stops on the defensive end and limiting a high powered offense to just 7 goals.
The win caps off a great career and season for many of The Hill Academy student-athletes. The Hill Academy players were very excited and honored with the opportunity that NALI has created for them and especially proud of winning the first ever NALI championship.
O'Connor said; "It was a pretty special group and we are going to remember this for the rest of our lives, especially since it was the first ever championship and our class did that. I built great relationships especially with the seniors and the boys in the Village house and those relationships will go for me the rest of my life."
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Hill Academy Lacrosse Highlights 2010-2011by 45jwn1,591 views
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