On Friday, April 15, Bel Air traveled to Havre de Grace to take on the Warriors in Boys Lacrosse, and fought through to a win in a thrilling battle. The Bobcats took the Warriors to overtime to eventually win, 14-13.

The Bobcats played this game without three of their starting defenders including Josh Carlon, Tommy Symalla, and Alex Muneses. Without those three, Havre de Grace Senior Midfielder Kyle Barkley was simply unstoppable for the Bobcat defense. He finished the game with 7 goals and 2 assists against Bel Air. To keep up with the offensive power he brought to the game, Bel Air had to attempt to match it. With help from midfielders Keegan McHugh (4G) and Justin Calabreese (3G), they were able to keep pace with Barkley and his Warriors.

The Bobcats came out extremely flat against the Warriors, as HDG jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the first quarter. The offense struggled to make passes, they fired wild shots that kept missing their marks, and the defense couldn’t hold its ground. After some adjustments from Coaches Chuck Muir and Randy Cottrell, Bel Air began to hit their stride and start a scoring run in the second quarter. Bel Air outplayed HDG in the second quarter and went into the half only down by 2. To start the second half, Barkley and fellow senior Colin Dean began peppering Bobcat goalie Chris Hagy with shots and he fought back with a solid 7 saves in the second half.

Bel Air and Havre de Grace exchanged goals and kept an even pace with each other until the final minute, when Colin Dean put HDG ahead, 13-12, after a goal with an assist from Barkley. That set up a crucial face off for Bobcat senior Evan Hulse, who continued his dominance at the X and won another possession for the Bobcats. With possession in the final minute and down by one, the entire stands were on their feet and watching when Bel Air’s Justin Calabreese found the back of the net with 25 seconds to go. At the end of the 4^th quarter, Bel Air and HDG were knotted up 13-13.

To begin overtime, Evan Hulse yet again won the faceoff and set up a much needed possession for the Bobcats. They passed around the ball with ease over a fatigued HDG defense, and the Warriors could only watch.  After holding the ball for over 3.5 minutes, Calabreese again fired a shot and it got past HDG goalie Luke Laubner to end the game.

Senior Attackman Chase Oberlin said “That game was one of the most fun games of my high school career, it was a hard fought battle from the first whistle. It was a much needed win. I believe it was a positive turning point for the rest of the season.

The momentum is heavily in the Bobcats favor, especially in UCBAC conference play where the Bobcats are now 2-0 and tied with C. Milton Wright for 1^st place. They will travel to fellow UCBAC rival North Harford on Friday April 22, hoping to take down the Hawks and improve to 3-0 in the conference and 5-4 overall. Make the trip to help support your Bobcats!