Arlington thumps Kilbourne
Goalie, defense anchor fifth straight title for Golden Bears
Sunday, June 8, 2008 3:50 AM
By Adam Conn
The Columbus Dispatch
The players scoring the goals usually draw the accolades. In the Division I boys state lacrosse final last night, the modest numbers put up by Upper Arlington goalkeeper Alex Benedick are the most revealing.
Benedick made a modest nine saves. That number does not do his performance justice, nor the Golden Bears defense, which smothered Worthington Kilbourne 8-3 last night at Dublin Coffman.
UA (19-3) won its fifth consecutive state championship on the strength of its goaltending, defense, timely offense and a ton of composure in this rugby-style matchup against the Wolves, who are winless against UA in 17 seasons.
"We had to have valued possessions on offense," UA coach Ted Wolford said. "We kept fighting for those ground balls; we kept fighting for those opportunities to get the ball back."
The Golden Bears took advantage of those opportunities early. Cal Case, Alex Drake and Eric Hanover each scored in the first four minutes to give UA a 3-0 lead.
Nick Beattie got the Wolves (19-4) on the board with a goal 45 seconds later, but the pace soon settled and the physical nature of the game intensified.
UA's Phil Gross led the defensive swarm around the net, banging on his assigned man, most often All-America Andrew Wilfong. Several times Wilfong tried to boost Kilbourne with charges from behind the net, but Gross would snuff him out before he shot.
"Andrew and I talk pretty friendly when he doesn't have the ball, but when he does it's another story," Gross said. "I was whacking him pretty hard; I actually broke my stick."
Case managed to spin free from two defenders to score two minutes into the second quarter for a 4-1 lead.
The physical play continued through the second quarter. Only three penalties were called the entire game.
"The refs probably drove both sidelines crazy with the no-calls," Wolford said. "But as things move along, you get comfortable. They let us play and our guys felt good about it."
Beattie's second goal cut the Wolves' deficit to one in the third quarter, but the Golden Bears then took control.
Wolford said Benedick, who was named defensive player of the game, played a key role in keeping the ball under UA's supervision.
"Typically, you'd say it's all about saving the ball, but for him the most important thing was the way he cleared the ball and held onto the ball for us. It made all the difference in the world in pressure situations."
Benedick, who made five key saves in the second half, credited the defense.
"I definitely wouldn't have played this good without them. They kept the shots far away, which made them easier to save," he said.
Drake gave UA a 5-3 lead near the end of the third quarter, Nolan Kleinhenz extended the lead to three midway through the fourth, and Adam Donahue put the game out of reach with two goals in the final six minutes.
aconn@dispatch.com
