Wild last-minute Casa Grande lacrosse victory

The Casa Grande High School lacrosse team took tension to the breaking point, but it was Redwood’s Giants who snapped in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division 1 playoffs Tuesday night.

AJ Cole scored off an assist from Brandon Keefer in the game’s final 30 seconds to give the Gauchos a mind-boggling 15-14 win and advancement to the second round of the playoffs.

Petaluma High was to make its debut in Division 2 at home Wednesday night against Miramonte. The score of that game was not available at press time. See Petaluma 360 for results.

Tuesday night’s game at Casa Grande was a hard-hitting, emotion-packed adventure with little to choose between the two teams.

It finally came down to the last two minutes, with the intensity level on the Casa Grande nearing the boiling point on a chilly spring night.

At that point, Redwood led, 14-12, on the last of Cole Schneider’s five goals. Casa Grande closed the gap on a goal by Cole, his first of the game. There was just over a minute to play when Keefer hit from in front of the goal to tie the match at 14-14.

The Casa Grande defense, staunch the entire game, repulsed the Giant attack and, with just under 30 seconds glowing on the small clock in back of the scorer’s table, Keefer fed Cole, who was open in front of the Redwood goal, and he didn’t miss.

“The coach drew up the play and we executed,” Cole said of the winning goal. “Brandon made great pass. The pass made the shot.”

Until the final hectic minute, the game was a major battle between the teamwork of the Gauchos against the two-man assault of Redwood’s Schneider and Jack Elders. Every time the Gauchos threatened to get on a streak, one or the other of the Redwood attackers would answer with a goal. Of the Giants’ 14 goals, Elders scored six and Schneider five.

Casa Grande’s attack was much more diversified.

Tommy Buickerood, as he has done all season, directed the Gaucho offense and generally served as a coach on the field. He provided four assists and scored two goals himself.

Other goals came from Josh Garcia, three and an assist; Peter Lantier, one; Cole, two; Keefer, three; Ian McKissick, one; Tobias Israel, two; and Max Bechtel, one.

The Casa Grande defenders, including Nic Petri, Andrew Floerke, Ryan Lowe and Nick Sojka, stood strong in the face of the Giants’ assault, providing protection for goalie Hank Wickley, who again made some extremely difficult saves of the whip-like shots of Elders and Schneider.

Casa Grande was handicapped when Lantier, one of the best attackers in the section, was injured in the first half. He left the game with concussion-like symptoms, and was later taken to a hospital as a precaution.

“That hurt us a lot,” acknowledged Casa Grande coach Ben Hewitt. “He is one of the top scorers in the NBL and an integral part of our game.”

Hewitt was extremely pleased with the way Casa battled throughout the contest.

“I couldn’t be prouder of these guys,” he said. “They say that sports reveals character and the character it revealed in our players was very special.”

The win moves the Gauchos into the deepest water in the playoffs, a match against No. 1 seed Monte Vista, a team Hewitt described as “the best team west of the Mississippi.” The contest will be Friday night in Danville.

The Mustangs are 19-1 on the season, while the Gauchos enter with a 19-3 record.