WOODSTOCK — Freshmen midfielders generally don’t draw saves in a lacrosse box score. Peyton Gray’s teammates should make an exception in his case.
Gray bumped off a Woodstock defender, leaped and whipped a 12-yard shot over the head of Woodstock netminder Ethan Mello at 2:16 of overtime, giving third-seeded Burr & Burton an emotional 9-8 win over the second-ranked Wasps in a VPA Division I semifinal on Tuesday. The Bulldogs (14-3) scored the game’s first five goals only to watch as Woodstock (12-3) ran off seven in a row — many built by Corey White’s near-perfect day on faceoff duty — for a 7-5 lead entering the fourth quarter.
BBA finally returned to its patient possession game and tied the contest on the last of junior Karter Noyes’ three goals with 1:48 left in regulation. Gray’s winner came on just his second shot attempt of the day and the only one that hit the target.
“They had some weak short sticks that we were trying to dodge on, and one of my senior mentors told me how to do this shot where I have to push off a guy and shoot,” Gray said. “That’s what I was thinking when I shot that goal. I was trying to push off the guy to get my hands free to shoot.
“I’m pretty sure my stick was pretty hidden, so he couldn’t see what was going to happen. I don’t even know if he was going to know that I was going to shoot.”
BBA will meet the winner of Wednesday’s CVU-Essex semifinal in the state title game this weekend at South Burlington High School. The Bulldogs dropped a 15-13 decision to CVU in the last VPA D-I championship played in 2019.
Gray’s goal spoiled a gutsy effort by the Wasps, who played as if absent for most of the first half. In a game where possession of the ball is everything, White’s faceoff wins were about the only time Woodstock had any semblance of control of affairs.
The Wasps exploded once they did. White’s wins at the X enabled Woodstock the play the unsettled, fast-paced game coach Brandon Little prefers. It nearly produced a comeback win for the ages.
“I kind of give the kids the green light from the very first day,” Little said. “We play fast, and that’s when we play our best. I don’t think we played as fast as we usually do.”
It’s hard to do it without the ball. BBA limited Woodstock to two first-quarter shots and just seven by halftime. Noyes and Teddy Mirenda both scored twice in the opening half for the Bulldogs, who built their 5-1 halftime advantage on five unassisted markers.
BBA didn’t see Woodstock’s frentic response coming. Keaton Piconi (three goals, one assist) got Woodstock on the board five minutes before halftime. The Wasps added six more goals in the third quarter past BBA netminder Jack Morrison, who drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during the run that contributed to two Woodstock tallies. White capped the quarter by winning the draw after an Andrew Gubbins strike and scoring on a solo fast break just 6 seconds later.
“We were all pretty worried, but we knew we could come back,” Gray said. “It was a run for both teams. We were up, they got back up, and then we got back up, too. It was just who wanted it more.”
Burr & Burton’s Emmett Edward halted the Woodstock charge, firing a shot past Mello (five saves) at 5:39 of the fourth period.
White’s second draw-win-to-solo-gallop score came a relatively pedantic 9 seconds later to re-establish the Wasps’ two-goal at 8-6.
Woodstock didn’t get another shot off until Harrison (five saves) denied a perimeter bid from the wasps’ Riley Shepherd at the outset of overtime. BBA outshot its hosts in the final quarter, 12-2, to get back in the contest.
The defeat denied the Wasps their first visit to a state final since 2003; the program last claimed honors in 1999. The nearness to the goal brought Little back to the sidelines after he’d initially stepped down in 2019.
In a game too close, in an effort denied cruelly and late, Little wasn’t ready to talk of the future.
“I think it was one of the best lacrosse teams to play for Woodstock,” he said in a halting voice. “I won’t think about it until a week after the season. My son asked me yesterday and I said, ‘Cole, the deal is we get through this, reassess and see if we can do it.’ ”
The Wasps almost did.
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.