Boys lacrosse: Copley snaps Highland's conference win streak

COPLEY TWP. — All good things must end, and so it was with the Highland boys lacrosse team's 20-game Suburban League winning streak Thursday. The Hornets rallied to tie twice, including a goal by Jon Tanski with 48 seconds left in regulation, but fell to Copley 11-10 in overtime. Jaxon Chang (3 goals, 1 assist) scored the winner on an assist by Noah Slattery with 1:30 remaining in the four-minute period. The Indians (7-3, 1-0) were led by Carsen Manson's game-high five goals and two assists. Manson scored three of his team's first five goals and assisted on another as Copley went ahead 5-1 with 8:30 left in the second period. Senior Eli Howard scored a team-high four goals for the Hornets (5-2, 4-1) and was looking for a score fifth at the regulation buzzer, but he slipped and couldn't get off a shot against tough defense. "It's a hard Suburban League loss," he said. "We can learn that we have to possess the ball more. We can't turn it over that much on offense and give them that many chances to keep the lead. We can't be chasing. We can't start that slow." After Tanski's game-tying goal, he had another chance with 10 seconds remaining but missed wide right on a low screamer. Despite scoring eight of the game's final 13 goals, Highland was never able to grab the lead. "We've got to put all the pieces together as a team," sophomore Beckett Mast said. "We had moments when the defense was doing great. We had moments when the offense was doing great. We just need to put it together. "That happens, and I'm sure as the season goes on we'll improve." Mast (3 goals) tied the game 7-7 with 14 seconds to go in the third quarter and cut the deficit to 10-9 with 1:28 left in the fourth to set up Tanski's game-tying goal. Hornets goalie Josh DeSimone was sensational early on, making five of his 11 saves in the first quarter to keep the margin from growing. Trailing 6-2 late in the first half, Henry Trausch started a furious Highland comeback on a goal with 1:49 left. Howard followed with back-to-back goals, and the Hornets cut the deficit to 6-5 in a 34-second span. "I think it was the motivation from the coaches," Trausch said of the second-quarter surge. "They told us that we needed to focus and keep a good headspace. I think that really helped out the team. Everyone took that literally, and we were right back in it." Trausch's first goal tied the game 1-1. The Hornets were unable to keep the momentum at the beginning of the fourth quarter, as Manson put the Indians ahead with 9:50 remaining. Highland coach Nate Howard then was flagged for a conduct penalty for arguing a call on the play, putting the Hornets down a man, and Chang found Anderson Madden for a 9-7 advantage 24 seconds later. Eli Howard cut the deficit with 5:25 remaining, but Chang scored on an assist by Manson. Down 10-8, Highland scored its final two goals over the final 1:28 of regulation. However, the Hornets couldn't capitalize to begin overtime. "When we were down, that's when we were the most focused," Trausch said. "We played well as a team to bring it back up and tie it. I just really wish we could get that last one." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.