Despite trailing 6-2 midway through the second quarter, the Victor Blue Devils (10-1) erased the deficit before earning a 7-6 victory in overtime versus the Pittsford Panthers (9-2) in high school boy’s lacrosse action Tuesday evening.
Victor’s win gives them sole possession of first place in the Monroe County-1 standings as they have won nine straight games dating back to April 4. Dating back to 2015, the Blue Devils show an 8-0 mark against the Panthers while outscoring Pittsford 68-47 over that span.
Senior Thomas Gravino (4+1), who paces the Victor offense with 39 goals, tallied his eighth consecutive game with three or more goals. The 2022 US Lacrosse All-American and First-Team All-State selection notched the game-winning goal in overtime with 1:26 left to play in the extra frame. Gravino has scored at least one goal in 20 of his last 21 contests while totaling 165 points (117+48) in 34 career games.
Junior Sam Gotham and senior Pax Marshall each scored once and twice, respectively, for the Panthers. Marshall has two or more goals in seven of 10 games while Gotham has scored in all but one contest this season. Junior Jack Herendeen and sophomore Kyle Saeger rounded out the scoring as they were credited with an assist.
Senior goaltender Brady Robinson improved to 8-1 while making 11 saves. In 35 career games, Robinson shows a 33-2 mark, which includes an 8-0 mark as a sophomore.
Senior Rex Kesselring, junior Ian Erskine and freshman Avery Valenti all notched a multi-point effort as they scored one goal to go with an assist. Seniors Ben Steingass and Anthony DeMeo as well as sophomore Brady Goetz chipped in a goal while senior Jackson Green and junior Luke Fiss added an assist.
Dating back to last season when Kesselring was named to the All-League Honorable mention list, he has scored at least one goal in 14 of his last 15 contests and totaled 36 points (31+5) over that span.
Senior goaltender Nolan Deehan (9-2) suffered just his second loss of the season while making eight saves. In 39 career appearances, Deehan has a combined 25-15 record, which includes a 20-3 mark over his last 23 appearances.
Facing a 6-2 deficit in the second quarter, Gravino and Marshall each netted a goal for Victor before the half to make it a two-score game going into the break.
After the intermission, Marshall notched his second of the game from Herendeen during the third frame with just over three minutes left.
Gravino tied the contest for the Blue Devils in the fourth quarter to ultimately force overtime, before he capped the 7-6 victory late in the extra-frame with his fourth goal of the contest.
Victor outscored Pittsford 6-1 over the final two quarters and shutout out the Panthers in the second half.
Pittsford countered Gotham’s goal by closing out the first quarter with a five-goal run to build a 5-1 lead.
The teams exchanged goals in the second quarter before Victor erupted for five straight goals to earn the 7-6 overtime win.
Victor will look for its 10th straight victory as they travel to Brighton on Thursday, May 4 for a 7:00 p.m. contest. Pittsford, meanwhile, hopes to avoid its second straight loss on Thursday, May 4 as they head to Spencerport for a 6:00 p.m. contest.
Next week’s High School’s Game of the Week will feature the battle of Webster as the Schroeder Warriors and Thomas Titans face-off in girl’s lacrosse action on Monday, May 8 at 7:45 p.m. at Webster Schroeder High School.