MORGANTOWN — Friday’s boys’ lacrosse version of the Mohawk Bowl between rivals Morgantown and University showed why the teams are considered two of the best in the state.
In a back-and-forth battle, the visiting Hawks edged the Mohigans 8-6 behind a five-goal effort from senior attacker Colin Carey and a strong second-half performance. Carey scored three of his five goals in the first half and the remaining two in a difference-making third quarter for UHS on its way to its first win over MHS since an overtime victory in 2019.
“We were fired up for this one,” UHS head coach Brian Houk said. “We had that mentality today and stayed disciplined which helped us execute our game plan. Our defense figured out what they needed to adjust and we felt prepared.”
The Hawks broke the ice two minutes into the game as Carey finished off a quick counterattack after a defensive stand.
However, it didn’t take long for the Mohigans to respond, as Ayden Shepard rifled an underhanded strike into the UHS net to tie the game at one goal each three minutes later. He was followed by Nico Kourtsis who put MHS ahead 2-1 after a nice offensive possession.
Carey tied the game with his second goal early in the second quarter but Shepard was there to answer once again for the Mohigans with another rocket of a shot for his second goal.
Just 90 seconds later, the Hawks found another equalizer courtesy of Noah Dower after a well-worked play to tie the game at three.
Five minutes would pass in the second quarter without a goal as each team stood strong on the defensive end. With just under a minute left, Joseph Mathews gave MHS a 4-3 lead with a shot that bounced off the ground, onto the crossbar, and into the goal.
But once again, Carey made his presence felt, tying the game at four with his third goal of the first half with 2.3 seconds left until halftime.
“We knew we were the underdogs in this game and wanted to come out strong,” Carey said. “We did just that with the early goal and some good possessions. The goal at the end of the first half to tie the game is what I think pushed us over the hump in the second half.”
Carey picked up right where he left off in the first half, opening the third quarter with his fourth goal with just 38 seconds gone from the clock as UHS took a 5-4 lead.
After a few minutes went by that included some impressive saves from the respective goalkeepers, Dylan Shinkovich of MHS and James Robbins of UHS, the Hawks broke through again.
Carey scored his fifth of the contest at the 7:12 mark in the third, giving his team a crucial two-goal lead 6-4 that would carry into the final 12 minutes.
“I think we needed to be better on groundballs and communicating,” MHS head coach Jeremy Bennett said. “We also gave the ball away a lot tonight and made some poor decisions. Going forward we need to play harder and take care of the ball.”
After going scoreless in the third, the Mohigans broke through right away in the fourth as Wyatt Kozel cut the lead to one goal 6-5. But less than a minute later, UHS went ahead by two again as Ty Jordan-Egnot extended the lead back to a two-goal advantage with 10:32 to go.
The next ten minutes would see the pace of play slow as UHS worked the clock well on offense, keeping the ball out of possession of the Mohigans.
Robbins made a trio of impressive saves for the Hawks in the game’s final three minutes to preserve the lead, including a point-blank denial on the goal line.
Each team added one more goal in the final 15 seconds of the game as UHS defeated MHS 8-6.
“We’ve been so close to winning the big game in recent years but our guys have been putting the work in and it’s showing,” Houk said. “We’ve had a lot of decisive wins but it means a lot to show that we can win a tight one too. It was the little details today that allowed us to be successful.”
Each team will look ahead to the WVSLA playoffs next week. UHS will be the No. 1 seed in the D1 East division, while MHS will be the No. 2 seed.
