Lake Norman Charter needed a spark on offense, and junior Tyler Price delivered.

With the Knights leading Orange 4-3 at halftime, Price came out in the third quarter and scored four straight goals in the first 4:09 of the quarter. That helped Lake Norman Charter to a 16-7 win over Orange, winning its third straight 1A/2A/3A boys lacrosse state championship.

Price’s first three goals of the third quarter were unassisted, but Jack Dalton recorded an assist on the fourth, which gave Lake Norman Charter an 8-3 lead. Then it was Price’s turn to setup a score, providing a behind-the-back assist on a Riley Cerosky goal to give the Knights a 9-3 lead with 6:46 left in the third quarter.

Lake Norman Charter’s momentum on offense bled over to defense too. Michael Lindsey picked off an Orange pass and turned it into an unassisted goal, pushing the lead to 10-3. Lake Norman Charter did not allow a single goal in the third quarter.

Dalton added one more goal for Lake Norman Charter in the third quarter as the Knights led 11-3 going into the fourth quarter.

Orange made a push in the fourth quarter. Matthew Macneir scored on a pass from Brett Clark 15 seconds into the quarter, then Gray Crabtree scored on an assist from Connor Kruse to get Orange within 11-5.

But each time Orange scored, Lake Norman Charter — specifically Price — responded. Price scored unassisted at the 10:39 mark to push the Lake Norman Charter lead back to seven. Then after Josh Cowan scored for Orange, Price scored again for Lake Norman Charter.

Price finished the game with 10 points, including eight goals, earning most valuable player honors. All but two of those points came in the second half, after a first half that was low scoring.

Goals were hard to come by in the first half. Lake Norman Charter scored the first two goals on shots from Price and Dalton, then Orange tied it with goals from Josh Crabtree and Connor Kruse.

The 2-2 tie held until the mid-point of the second quarter when the Panthers took their only lead of the game. Kruse connected with Gray Crabtree for a goal to give Orange a 3-2 lead.

Lake Norman Charter scored twice in the final moments before halftime though. Stevie Parker and Price each scored before the half, giving the Knights a 4-3 halftime advantage.

Lake Norman Charter has now won three straight 1A/2A/3A boys lacrosse state championships. As a program, the Knights are unbeaten in boys lacrosse state championship games. They finish the season with a record of 15-7.

The state championship game loss was just the second loss of the season for Orange. The Panthers end the season with a 24-2 record. This was the first time Orange has played in a boys lacrosse state championship game after falling in the regional championship each of the last two seasons.

Source: highschoolot.com