Twice, in back-to-back seasons, the Orange boys lacrosse team has gotten close.

So painfully close.

Last year, the Panthers lost to Northwood in the state semifinals by two goals. The year before that, it was a 13-7 loss to First Flight.

But this year, things ended differently. In fact, they haven’t ended at all. On Monday night, top-seeded Orange defeated 2-seed Croatan 14-9 to advance to the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A/2A/3A boys lacrosse state championship game for the first time in school history.

“We’ve been in this game the last three years, the last two times we couldn’t get it done, but this group practiced a lot in the off season and we really worked for it, we finally got it done,” said senior Connor Kruse, who is the state’s all-time leader in career points.

For some of the Orange players, flashbacks to the last two seasons may have happened early as Croatan scored the game’s first goal when Matej Roth assisted a Dain Sparks score less than two minutes in. But if those flashbacks happened, they were quickly settled down.

Brett Clark recorded two assists in less than minute — one to Gray Crabtree and another to Brandon Williams — then Kruse scored an unassisted goal to give Orange a 4-1 lead with 7:25 left in the first quarter.

Sparks scored again out of a Croatan timeout, but Williams recorded his second goal thanks to an assist by Kruse, and Orange led 4-2 after one quarter.

Momentum carried over into the second quarter for the Panthers. Gray Crabtree collected a rebound and scored, then Kruse recorded assists on goals by Brett Clark and another by Crabtree. Orange led 7-2 with 5:32 left before halftime.

Croatan managed two goals before the break to keep things interesting. Sparks had a first-half hat trick and Drew DeGeorge scored as the Cougars pulled within 7-4 at halftime.

Croatan never got any closer though. Orange scored the first four goals of the second half — Josh Crabtree scored unassisted, Clark scored twice off two assists from Kruse, and Gray Crabtree scored off an assist from Alden Cathey. The 11-4 margin was enough cushion for Orange to weather each push by the Cougars from that point forward.

Orange led 13-7 after three quarters and held Croatan to just two goals in the fourth quarter. The final dagger from Gray Crabtree off a pass from Josh Cowan.

“It feels great, especially after losing it two times in a row,” Gray Crabtree said after the game.

Kruse and Gray Crabtree each recorded seven points for the Panthers. Kruse had six assists and one goal, while Gray Crabtree recorded seven goals. Clark recorded five points, accounting for three goals and two assists.

In the state championship game, Orange will play the winner of (4) Lake Norman Charter and (3) Bishop McGuinness — a game that is scheduled for Tuesday evening. The players at Orange believe they will have a chance, regardless of who the opponent is.

“We’ve been together for a long time, we’ve been together through a lot of ups and downs, specifically the last two semifinal games. We just work together and we work as a team everywhere we go. It’s paying off,” Kruse said.

The state championship game will be played on either Friday or Saturday at Durham County Memorial Stadium. The NCHSAA will release the state championship schedule later this week.

Source: highschoolot.com