Harwood Union varsity senior Milo Lavit outscored the Hartford Hurricanes in D II state championships at Hartford on Sunday, June 14, letting his defensive teammates do the rest and ending the game 13-7.
Lavit, a four-year varsity standout, finished with a dizzying eight-goal total, helping the top-seeded Highlanders avenge their only loss of the season during a 13-7 victory in the Division II lacrosse championship. Harwood (15-1) claimed its second straight crown and snapped No. 2 Hartford’s 13-game winning streak one month after the Hurricanes put a halt to the Highlanders’ string of 17 straight victories.
The Highlanders competed in the title game for the seventh time in nine seasons and have taken home the hardware four times during that span. And Sunday’s final outcome carried on a tradition of trophy hauls for a select group of Harwood athletes who also helped their team earn a repeat ice hockey championship last winter.
Photo by Taber Andrews
For the past decade every D-II boys lacrosse final has featured either Harwood or Hartford. And making the Highlanders’ feat extra special was that fact that the Hurricanes had gone a combined 76-6 over the last five years before entering the title clash.
TOP SCORERS
Sophomore Charlie Lamonia tucked away three goals and Harwood teammates Braedon Bellows and Felix Kretz also scored. Lamonia, Lavit and Brycen Scharf tallied an assist in the winning effort.
Isaac Tane (three goals) and Owen McMahon (two goals) were the top scorers for Hartford. Rex Baning (one goal, one assist) was another offensive weapon in the losing effort and teammate Owen Mock added one goal.
“We don’t have football (at Harwood), so these guys tend to be more physical than us,” coach Chris Lamonia said. “And there were aspects of the game where they clearly were more physical than us. But we knew that going into this game, so we definitely practiced our intensity level – and we brought it. We knew we had to play four quarters of our best lacrosse. And these guys did it. But we knew that it was not going to be easy, so we couldn’t let up in any quarter and we just took one quarter at a time. And (the Hurricanes) are a great team and they’re the best team we’ve played all year.”
Photo by Taber Andrews
Senior goalie Graham Thompson made 12 saves for the Hurricanes, while Harwood sophomore netminder Liam Cleveland turned away nine shots.
Harwood held a 17-14 edge on groundball wins and both teams won 12 face-offs. Harwood outshot Hartford 23-17 and relied on some tone-setting stops by Cleveland in the opening half to continually frustrate the Hurricanes.
STOLE THE SHOW
This year Cleveland took over starting goalie duties for Andrews, who made over 400 career saves for the Highlander. And despite Cleveland’s limited varsity experience, he was unfazed by the pressure of a championship atmosphere and happily stole the show during some make-or-break moments.
Thompson reminded everyone at Virtue Field that he’s one of the bravest netminders in the state 80 seconds into the game by using crafty stickwork while racing out from the crease and cradling the ball all the way past the center line – beating several Highlanders in the process.
Lavit opened the scoring midway through the first quarter on an unassisted effort. Cleveland went low to deny a shot toward the right corner 40 seconds later and then a long-range snipe by Lamonia doubled the lead 72 seconds later. Harwood went a man down late in the first period due to interference and personal conduct infractions, but moments after play resumed Lavit scored on a Lamonia assist for a 3-0 cushion.
Hartford’s scoring woes finally ended when McMahon broke up the shutout bid with 9:52 left in the second quarter. Baning notched an assist on his team’s opening goal and then scored himself with 7:35 on the clock. And just over a minute later Tane maintained possession in traffic while driving toward the right post and then tied things up by rifling a shot into the back of the net.
Harwood didn’t wait long before offering a response, with Lavit pushing his team ahead for good with 5:42 left in the first quarter. A Lamonia goal with 4:49 on the clock kept Harwood flying high and then the sophomore sensation capitalized on a Scharf assist, extending the lead to 6-3 with 2:25 on the clock.
THREE-GOAL LEAD
Another Tane goal kept things close with 1:23 remaining in the half, but once again the momentum switched quickly. Lavit was cutting toward the right side before he stopped in his tracks, reversed direction for a split second and ripped a backhanded shot into the lower portion of the goal for a 7-4 lead with 46 seconds on the clock.
Both goalies made some highlight-reel saves late in the first quarter, with Thompson squatting low and batting away a shot by Bridger Lillard. Cleveland dropped to his knees and denied a late scoring attempt by the Hurricanes, allowing the Highlanders to head into halftime with a three-goal lead.
Lavit kept firing away 51 seconds into the third quarter and ignited another round of cheers from Harwood’s packed fan section by getting the best of Thompson once again.
“Something got into Milo this game and it was a great performance from him,” Cleveland said.
The predictability of Harwood’s 1-2 scoring punch of Lavit and Lamonia finally ended when Lavit assisted Bellows for a 9-4 lead with 9:46 left in the third quarter. The Hurricanes countered with a McMahon goal outside the left post with 8:22 on the clock, slicing the gap to 9-5.
HIGH SHOT
With Thompson a few steps away from the goal, Lavit stole the ball and sprinted 12 yards toward the target as the Hartford netminder regained his positioning. Lavit didn’t slow down a bit before reaching the top of the crease and then opted for a high shot that made it a 10-5 contest.
A minute later Thompson blocked a bounce shot and dodged a bullet when the ball ricocheted off the top of the crossbar. But the Hurricanes weren’t so lucky with 2:31 on the clock when Felix Kretz made a half-field run and found a slight crack in the Hurricanes’ defensive shell.
Another Lavit goal 59 seconds into the fourth quarter gave Harwood the luxury of passing the ball around more than usual while protecting a seven-goal advantage. Tane scored the final goal with 2:58 remaining, but at that point the countdown to Harwood’s victory parade couldn’t be stopped.
Excerpted and reprinted courtesy of The Times Argus.
