On a day when Mother Nature didn’t cooperate, the Wilson Bulldogs refused to let the weather disrupt their championship dominance.
Wilson defeated Twin Valley 14-8 at Alvernia University on Tuesday night to win its 13th consecutive BCIAA championship, and the fourth under head coach Ryan Sheaffer.
“This is the sweetest one for me,” Sheaffer said. “It’s a streak very important to us. We value this trophy a lot, and we’re happy that this one is coming home to where we feel it belongs.”
“It’s extra special,” Bulldogs senior Carter Brensinger said. “It’s your senior year, and you’re playing for everything. You don’t want to be the one to lose it, and just playing with these kids ever since second and third grade, I mean, it’s special. Everything’s winding down, so you just have to keep playing your hardest.”
It was a different outcome from the last time the two teams met, when the Raiders (15-4) pulled off a gritty 3-2 win, ending Wilson’s regular-season winning streak.
“We were hungry, we knew we could beat this team,” Bulldogs junior Luke Azzanesi said. “We were so confident going into this game, and we were ready.”
The second-seeded Bulldogs opened the first quarter with four goals from four different players: Nolan Moyer, Beckett Redner, Brensinger, and Luke Azzanesi.
Wilson won four draw controls to take command of the game.
In the second quarter, the Raiders caught some life.
Keenan Munn scored the first goal for Twin Valley, but Cole Kauffmann quickly answered with a goal of his own for the Bulldogs.
Trailing 5-1, Cole Gallagher scored three consecutive goals to shift the momentum.
“It’s a mental thing, obviously lacrosse is a game of runs,” Brensinger said. “They’re going to score, that’s going to happen, but it’s the way we keep fighting. I’m going to be with all my brothers in any fight, so I believe in all of them.”
But with less than a minute remaining in the half, Kauffmann scored his second goal to swing the momentum back in the Bulldogs’ favor.
Both teams traded goals to start the second half, with Wilson holding an 8-6 lead midway through the third quarter.
Then, Moyer and Ian Miller each scored to push the lead back to four goals.
Raiders’ Drew Engle netted his second goal of the quarter as the game moved into the fourth.
Immediately, Azzanesi, the son of Alvernia’s head football coach Steve Azzanesi, scored his second goal of the game, while falling down.
“I had to put it in the net, we needed a juice play,” Azzanesi said. “I wanted this way more than them; we all really, really wanted this.”
Holding an 11-7 lead, the Bulldogs kept their foot on the pedal.
The game remained chippy throughout, continuing into the fourth quarter, with each team receiving penalties.
Goals from Jackson Becker, Kauffmann, and Azzanesi extended the lead to seven with six minutes remaining.
Twin Valley’s Cooper Glass scored his second goal of the game before the final whistle blew.
As the rain continued to pour down, the Bulldogs and their fans erupted into celebration, raising yet another county title to the sky.
“We talked a lot about playing loose and playing fast and playing kind of like free,” Sheaffer said of his team’s game plan in this matchup. “Don’t be slowed down, don’t be bogged down, and don’t play tight. We felt like we played a little tight in the first game because we know Twin Valley is a great team. We knew it was going to be a competitive game, and so I think we were a little tight in round one, and credit to them, they beat us.”
“So, this week we talked a lot about playing at our tempo and making sure the game went our way and the style of play that we wanted, and that’s that’s fast, that’s attacking, it’s moving the ball and putting the ball in the back of the net.”
Wilson was led by Azzanesi, who recorded three goals and an assist, and Kauffmann, who added three goals. Brensinger had one goal and an assist.
For Twin Valley, Gallagher finished with three goals, and Munn had one goal and an assist.
Both teams will now move on to the District 3 playoffs – Wilson in 3A and Twin Valley in 2A.
Source: Berkshire mont