By Alex Johnson ’23
On Saturday April 29, the Gunn boys varsity lacrosse team took on the CANTerbury saints. Despite Gunn being down significantly in the CANTerbury cup standings the team was ready to go. CANTerbury lacrosse historically has been very talented and has always been a tough opponent for GUNN. Saturday was no different.
The day was dreary, cloudy, cold, with rain. The game got off to an intense start, Gunn drew first blood, Jay Ashforth ‘23 scored with 1:10 left in the first quarter. In the second quarter CANTerbury retaliated after Gunn took a penalty leaving the game tied with 11 minutes left in the 2nd. CANTerbury gained momentum and scored 2 minutes later and then once again 30 seconds later leaving CANTerbury up 3-1. The game looked hopeless for Gunn but they remained strong. Owen Laatsch ‘25, with 2 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, ripped one into the top right corner and scored. Shortly thereafter Luke Calabria ‘25 scored, tying up the game 3-3. The crowd was ecstatic, we now had a game on our hands. After halftime CANTerbury struck once more in the 3rd taking back the lead 4-3. In the 4th quarter with 2 minutes left Gunn was down 3-5 as CANTerbury had scored once more. All hope seemed to be lost until took a penalty with 1:47 left in the 4th. Gunn had to capitalize on this opportunity. After moving the ball around, Owen Laatsch once again scored putting Gunn one down with a minute to go. At this point it was necessary that Gunn won the faceoff and score to tie up the game. Christian Wood ‘23 stepped up and successfully won the faceoff. After gaining possession Gunn called a smart time out to strategize for their attack in the final 50 seconds of the game. With 30 seconds left, Mike Pizzo ‘23 scored off a rebound from Adrew Rainville ‘24. Gunn had tied the game. Once again it was up to Christian Wood to win the faceoff for Gunn to take possession and hopefully get a goal in the last 20 seconds. Wood never batted an eye and won the draw. The clock drained to 9 seconds when Gunn took another time out. The original plan was to hold the ball until overtime when the team was informed that they would not start overtime with possession. In the huddle Coach Marich said, “Let’s win it now” and drew up a play. The clock was started and after receiving a pass from Luke Calabria, Andrew Rainville pushed toward the net but was stopped by a defenseman who cross checked him in the head. Rainville, however, was able to get a pass off to Drew Delouchry ‘25 who passed it to none other than Jay “Iceman” Ashforth who, with .8 seconds left, shot and scored. The goal horn blew and the fans and the bench erupted. The players rushed the field and piled on top of each other. The hard work of the lacrosse team paid off and it led to one of the greatest, electric, and sensational sports moments of FGS.
