Marin Catholic Deflates Piedmont Lax in NCS Playoffs

The Star: Marin Catholic's Jake Newman, who scored twice, was instrumental for the Wildcat's offense as a decoy and ball carrier.

The Turning Point: After trailing 3-0 with 7:30 remaining in the second quarter, Marin Catholic took a 4-3 lead by scoring four goals in just 1:30. Not only did the four-goal burst put the Wildcats in the lead, it appeared to rip the heart out of the Highlander team.

Bottom Line: After keeping the ball on Marin Catholic's side of the field for most of the first quarter and a half, Piedmont lost their ability to control the ball, and then lacked composure to avoid sloppy play and penalties.

What's Next: For the Highlanders, a long offseason.

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boys lacrosse team will definitely look back on their 13-9 loss to Marin Catholic in the second round of the North Coast Section Division II tournament Saturday as a game they let slip out of their hands.

With 8:51 remaining in the second quarter, Piedmont's Zane Myers scored with a laser-quick wrist shot to put the Highlanders up 3-0, and cause Marin Catholic's home crowd to groan in agony.

To that point, the Highlanders (13-10) had dominated the game by keeping the ball near the Wildcats' net. After Myers' scoring play, Wildcats goalie Mike Podshadly looked to the ground shaking his head.

It appeared that Piedmont was only one goal away from entirely stripping Marin Catholic (14-4) of any remaining confidence. Unfortunately for the Highlanders, appearances can be deceiving.

Just 1:21 later, Marin Catholic got on the board when Nick Hallmark zoomed past two defenders and willed the ball into the net. That score was the spark that the Wildcats needed.

Over the next 1:30, Marin Catholic completed a four-goal run to take a 4-3 lead and seemingly all of the momentum. The first two goals were 22 seconds apart, and the second pair hit in a span of just 10 seconds. The Highlander team suddenly couldn't slow the Wildcats down with their zone defense.

The Highlanders were able to tie the score, 4-4, when sophomore Ryan Ellis scored his second of three goals on the day with 1:24 left in half, but 22 seconds later the Wildcats took back the lead when Hallmark slipped another past Piedmont goalie Henry Anderson.

Marin Catholic scored the first three goals of the second half to take an 8-4 lead and effectively take control of the game.

"We usually come out not as strong," said Ellis. "This game, I guess it flipped. We really lost our composure in the third quarter."

Piedmont would score the next two goals to give them hope, but before they could score again, they found themselves down 11-6, with just 6:31 remaining in the contest.

"The biggest part of this entire game was the time of possession," said Piedmont head coach Jerem Stothers of the outcome. "They controlled the face-offs, controlled the time of possession, really won the game [because of] that."

Piedmont's nine goals were split evenly between three players: Ellis, Myers, and Jack Lally.

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