Blue Devils encouraged after tough loss to Freedom South-Riding – The Daily Progress

CULPEPER The Culpeper boys lacrosse team played like an inspired bunch during the early stages of Wednesday nights senior day matchup against Freedom South-Riding.

After goals from Will Clark, Ashton Short, Thomas Armel and Dillon Grenke, Culpeper (6-6) held a 4-1 lead early into the second quarter against one of the top-ranked 4A programs in the state.

As it turned out, the Eagles (10-1) took Culpepers best punch and countered. Freedom scored seven consecutive goals over the final 7:24 of the first half to take an 8-4 lead into the locker room. When it was all said and done, the Eagles came away victorious, 16-9.

If you look at them, thats one of the top teams in the state, Culpeper head coach Scott Found said. I thought we did a pretty good job and the kids never stopped fighting.

The Blue Devils played like a team up to the task of pulling an upset in the first quarter of Wednesdays game. They held a demanding 9-1 lead on ground balls and only lost the faceoff margin, 3-2.

Culpeper sophomore Joe Davis was in net for the third consecutive game. His solid play, combined with a new defensive wrinkle, limited Freedom to just one goal in the first 12 minutes.

Culpepers defense has struggled at times throughout the year. In losses, the Blue Devils are giving up an average of about 17 goals per game. Theyve given up no more than 14 goals in wins.

Found switched Culpepers defense from a man-to-man to zone as a way to try and protect the crease, he said. That change in scheme threw Freedom in for a loop, head coach Warren Dazenbaker said. A zone defense isnt seen too often.

I think that threw our guys off a little, Dazenbaker said. Its not something you typically see. It took our guys a little longer to start finding the right cuts and firing off the right shots. A lot of credit has to go to Culpeper, too. They have a great program and we like coming here to play.

As the game went on, Freedom settled in more and more offensively. Their comfort against the zone defense increased thanks to some dominating possession time.

That, of course, can be traced back to faceoffs. Culpeper held their own in the first quarter but had no such luck in the second. Freedom held a 7-2 faceoff advantage and rattled off seven straight goals because of it.

It really just came down to possession, Dazenbaker said. Culpeper won a lot of groundballs in that first quarter. We kind of regrouped and started winning faceoffs, which was important.

Freedom took a four-goal lead into halftime and the score would never get closer. Grenke led Culpeper with four goals. Cole Boddery (two), Armel (one), Short (one) and Clark (one) added to the Culpeper scoring.

Wednesdays result locked in Culpepers seeding for the Evergreen Section tournament. Culpeper will play Eastern View on Monday.

Chris Cappella is the sports editor of the Culpeper Star-Exponent. He can be reached at ccappella@starexponent.com or (540) 825-0771 ext. 4128. Follow him on Twitter @C_Cappella and @CSEpreps.

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Blue Devils encouraged after tough loss to Freedom South-Riding - The Daily Progress