Friday night was an opportunity for Granite Hills to make history.
Yes, the Eagles already have one CIF boys lacrosse championship in their trophy case.
But to this point, the program had never captured a CIF Division 1 title.
Until now.
Thanks to a last-second goal from sophomore Cayden Phillips, the Eagles took down St. Augustine 9-8.
“We knew coming into these playoffs that we would be viewed as the underdog, and we knewteams were going to take us lightly,” said Granite Hills coach Henry Diaz. “So we came in with that fire. Our seniors lit it up on the scoreboard and played just perfect defense, which was unreal.”
The road to victory wasn’t straightforward for Granite Hills. The Eagles found themselves behindthe eight ball early after Saints attacker Forrest Higgins scored three goals in the game’s first 13 minutes. Higgins’ quick hat trick handed Saints a 4-2 lead with 11:18 to play in the half.
Granite Hills refocused. Cayden Phillips and Carson Kowalsky logged goals, and the game was tied 4-4 at halftime.
Returning from the break, Granite Hills took control, outscoring Saints 4-1 in the third quarter. Kowalsky once again made his presence known on attack, tallying two more goals to cap his hat trick. Meanwhile, in goal, Granite Hills goalie Julian Boetjer stonewalled Saints attackers, allowing only one goal and tallying five saves in the third.
That combination of elite defense and effective offense gave Granite Hills a 8-5 lead heading tothe fourth quarter.
“When we come out of the half, it always starts with the first five minutes,” Diaz said. “The firstfive minutes are going to tell the rest of the story of this game. They came out firing on offense, and we got miraculous saves from our goalie, Julian. He just stood on his head all night.”
Granite Hills would hold that same 8-5 lead until there were just five minutes to play in the fourthquarter. With their backs against the wall, Saints threw one more counterpunch. Awakening from a 19-minute scoreless streak, Saints ripped off a remarkable 3-0 scoring run, tying the game at 8-8 with 1:10 to play.
In the game’s waning moments, it would be Phillips who played the role of hero. With 30 seconds to play, the sophomore ripped the bottom right corner of the net on a short-range bounce shot.
“I took a similar dodge down the alley in earlier in the game, and I put it in a different place lasttime,” he said.
