New horizons open to Seahawks in Lower State lacrosse final

Perhaps the fourth time will be the charm for Hilton Head Island boys’ lacrosse. One thing’s for sure: Wando isn’t standing in the way.

That alone opens up new possibilities for the Seahawks, who have been ousted by the state’s lacrosse power in each of their three previous trips to the Lower State final. With the sport now split into two classifications, they no longer cross playoff paths.

Then again, it’s no different for Bishop England as the teams point toward Tuesday night’s showdown at Hilton Head, with a berth in Saturday’s Class 4A state title game at stake.

“It’s going to be a great battle,” Seahawks coach John Werner said. “I know my guys are looking forward to the task at hand. I know they’ve learned some good lessons through the season, and they don’t forget that stuff.”

Tuesday’s victor advances to face the Upper State winner between A.C. Flora and Christ Church Episcopal.

The Seahawks (13-3) will bring a six-game winning streak into the contest, outscoring their opponents 37-5 in the first two playoff rounds. A 13-3 victory over Academic Magnet last Thursday punched their ticket to Lower State host duties.

“We all have one goal in mind, and that’s winning a state championship,” said midfielder Benton Soule.

Bishop England, though, happens to be the last team to hand Hilton Head a loss. The Battling Bishops (12-3) prevailed in a 7-5 standoff back in March, representing the Seahawks’ lowest-scoring outing this year and BE’s second-lowest.

What most sticks with the Seahawks is they took a 4-1 lead into halftime of that contest, but managed just one goal the rest of the way.

“Sometimes the lessons you learn within the season help you out when the playoffs come,” Werner said. “One thing they learned is you can’t play two quarters and win the game.”

The Seahawks ought to bring enough firepower, with three players tallying at least 30 goals this season. Duncan Marx leads with way with 43 thus far, with Jack Flowers adding 33 and Taylor Rozek scoring 30.

Flowers also has 52 assists, a number that ranks him fifth in the nation. Two other Seahawks also show among the nation’s statistical top 10 — Colin Courtney’s 180 ground balls stands No. 4 on that chart, and freshman Will Frith is No. 9 by winning 86.1 percent of his faceoffs.

“We couldn’t be playing better lacrosse than we are right now,” Werner said. “But we’re definitely not looking past Tuesday night.”

The Bishops have similar stats, matching Hilton Head at 14.0 goals per game behind Andrew Pizzo’s 54 goals and 40 more from Connor Malark.

“One thing we’ve taught them this year (is) it’s not about who’s on the other side,” Werner said. “It’s a big game, but in reality you’re doing the same thing you’ve been doing all year long. Go play the game and let the outcome play itself out.”

This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 4:47 PM with the headline "New horizons open to Seahawks in Lower State lacrosse final."