At the end of the first half against Bishop Moore, the boys varsity lacrosse team was behind 9-2. Motivated to narrow the lead, the team came out in the second half and scored six unanswered goals.

With 20 seconds left, Bishop Moore was still ahead by one, but they lost the ball. Captain John Mediavilla ran the ball toward the cage and shot, but missed. The team could not complete the comeback and lost 9-8.

“We need to work on coming out hot in these big games,” attacker Landon McLaughlin said. “We cannot afford to come off slow since we all know we could have won that game.”

Bishop Moore took the lead early in the game, ending the first quarter 4-1. During the second quarter, the defense still could not stop Bishop Moore, who scored five more goals to Hagerty’s one. But the team found a different mindset at the break.

“During halftime, our overall energy changed,” captain Connor McLaughlin said. “We all knew we were not playing to our capability and came out a different team.”

At the start of the half, the McLaughlin brothers started to take over on offense. With two goals by Connor and one by Landon, the lead narrowed. 

“Once Landon and Connor got those goals on the board, our momentum switched entirely, we really stepped our game up in the second half,” John said.

The McLaughlin brothers were not the only siblings in the game. Shortly after, John and attacker Parker Mediavilla scored back-to-back goals, while goalkeeper Grant Smith shut down Bishop Moore’s offense with 12 saves.

Midfielder Caleb Barber scored the final goal with five minutes left to go, and the team fell just short of a dramatic comeback. Despite the 9-8 loss, the team is encouraged by their play.

“Being able to stay together as a team mentally after losses like this has been huge for us. We don’t let the losses we take get to our heads,” Landon said.

The team record is 3-2, and they will play at Seminole on March 3 at 7 p.m.

“I am ready to see our team play as we did in this game’s second half throughout the season. I think we have a good chance at being district champions,” John said.