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Delano survives final flurry

By Jake Lunemann, MN Lax Hub staff, 06/11/11, 9:54PM CDT

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Wild Orono comeback falls short as Rage wins MBSLA third place game


Orono's Chandler Sampson finds the going tough in front of the Delano goal as the Rage's Jake Breig, left, and Lucas Anderson apply the defense. Photo by Helen Nelson

The game finished with a flurry of Orono goals but Delano would ultimately hold on for the victory.

With 1-minute remaining, and trailing by four, Orono would throw home three goals before time expired. The Spartans' valiant comeback would fall just short, with Delano holding on to win 7-6 on Saturday, June 11, in the Minnesota Boys Scholastic Lacrosse Association third-place game at Orono High School.

The first half would be a back and forth affair with neither team leading by more than two. Delano would go into the halftime leading by one.
 
“(At halftime) I told the team we needed to move the ball quicker, create more opportunities and most importantly, finish," Delano coach Dan Willette said. “Trust each other and make the passes and this game can be ours.”

Delano's Colton Homberger, right, scored twice for the Rage in their victory over Parker Gross (3) and Orono in the MBSLA third place game. Photo by Helen Nelson

The Rage must have listened because they would push the lead to three in the third quarter. After a long scoring drought in the fourth quarter, Delano would add one more goal with 5:28 remaining to push the score to 7-3.
 
The public address announcer's reminder there was one minute remaining set off a mad comeback by Orono that would push Delano to the brink.
 
After scoring with 58 seconds left, and again with 32 seconds left, Orono had everyone in attendance on the edge of their seats.

Nick Schroeder scored one more goal for Spartans with 14.4 seconds remaining. Delano kept Orono from reaching th offensive end for the last 14 ticks on the clock to hold on for the victory. 
 
“It would have been nice to win the championship,” Delano attackman Colton Homberger said. "Although only having one loss all season is fine by me.”
 
Delano was fueled by a balanced attack. Chase Willette, Lucas Anderson, and Colton Homberger scored two goals each. Andrew Muehller would add one more goal to round out the scoring.
 
Orono got two goals apiece from Derek Alford and Chandler Sampson with Sean Keogan and Nick Schroeder adding one goal each.

Delano finished the season with an MBSLA third-place finish and just one loss. Photo by Helen Nelson

Statistics Summary

1. Chase Willette, Delano
The elusive attackman with a goal-scoring flair had two goals and added an assist, pushing his point total to 58 this season. Willette’s fourth-quarter goal proved to be the game-winner.

2. Lucas Anderson, Delano
The athletic midfielder scored two goals to finish the season with a team-best 63 points.

3. Chandler Sampson, Orono
The MBSLA’s goal-scoring leader, Sampson, scored twice to cap a sensational freshman season with 65 goals in 16 games. One of his goals came in the final minute as the Spartans mounted furious comeback.

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