Nothing more exciting than a buzzer-beater goal in OT.
I know, I gave away the ending, but trust me, it was even more exciting to be there in person, capturing the lead-up and aftermath.
Minneapolis stayed tight with higher-ranked, Northfield all game in a back-and-forth, hard fought struggle. Mpls’ defense was solid, turning back 4 & 5 shots on each of Northfield’s offensive possessions before finally taking control. And the Mpls offense made good use of their limited shots on goal to tie up the game about 1 min before the end of regulation burned down.
Overtime was sudden death, so it was important to take charge and score as quickly as they could. Coach Hunter and his assistants kept the team motivated and positive going into overtime. I was impressed that his speeches centered more around family and experience than winning. From his speech and watching the boys react, I got the sense that this team was a tight-knit group of young men who enjoy the sport of lacrosse as much as they do each other.
Minneapolis had to turn back several early shots by Northfield and the offense had hardly gotten a quality shot on goal as time was running down. A late offensive surge by Mpls kept the ball down around the Northfield net with a few tough shots turned away. Mpls was tenacious to maintain control of the rebounds. And as time was winding down, the whole team was yelling to get a shot off. It seemed like time would run out when all of the sudden, from a blocked view, #24 got a shot off and the offense erupted just as the buzzer went off. The ball was in the Northfield net and the game was over.
Minneapolis beat Northfield in overtime and these young men will recall this game together for the next 20 years. And they’ve got the photos to prove it.
