Four the hard way: Vero Beach clips Viera in overtime for fourth-straight district title

The Vero Beach boys lacrosse team was mere seconds from being denied a chance at redemption.

After defeating the Indians at home in overtime during the regular season, Viera was not only on the verge of claiming the rematch, they were less than a minute away from ending Vero’s string of district titles.

That is until Tanner Lenhardt came to the rescue.

The senior attacker rose to the occasion, first causing a late turnover and scoring the game-tying goal with 16 seconds left in regulation. He later notched the game-winning goal in overtime to lift the Indians to a 12-11 victory on Monday during the District 8-2A championship from the Citrus Bowl.

Vero Beach earned its fourth consecutive district title.

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“I’ve watched enough lacrosse to know that it’s not over until it’s over,” Indians head coach Rory Whipple said.

The match was deadlocked at 10-10 before Kyle Fischer scored in transition to put Viera ahead with 44 seconds remaining in the fourth. The home team won the ensuing faceoff, but the Hawks gained possession on the defensive end of the field and signaled for a timeout with 22 seconds to go.

Whipple called a 10-man ride out of the timeout, pulling the goalie out of the cage to double the man with the ball. Soon after the whistle blew, Lenhardt applied the pressure and used his stick to knock the ball free on the right side of the field. He then scooped up the ground ball, charged toward the goal and beat Isaiah Garrett for the game-tying score.

“At that point, it’s your senior year and we’ve worked so hard for this for the past however many months, it’s emptying the tank,” said Lenhardt, who has been a part of all four district championships. “I got fortunate, I was able to get a stick on the ball and it popped loose. I got a good angle on him, I took it to the goal and I scored.”

Whipple added: “I told these guys when they called a timeout, ‘You got to believe we’re going to win, you got to believe that we’re going win.'”

The visitors won the faceoff to start the overtime before immediately calling another timeout. After some initial patience and ball movement, they created a terrific chance for Fischer near the front of the net, but a better play by Major Croom saved the hosts.

Defending the ball with a teammate hedging nearby, the senior midfielder quickly closed up the shooting lane and dislodged the ball just as Fischer unleashed it.

“At the last second, I went in and pulled my stick down so that he wouldn’t see it coming, then bam, I cranked it back up. I barely got it in there,” Croom said of the play.

Isolated behind the net on the ensuing possession, Lenhardt rolled to his right, delivered a slight fake before scoring with a turnaround shot to end it. Throwing their gloves and sticks to the sky, Vero Beach players stormed the field to congratulate the hero.

“We put it in Tanner’s hands. It was up to Tanner to finish it, which he’s done all year.”

Winners of their last five games, the Indians (10-7) were top seed in the district and likely have secured a home game to open the state playoffs. The Hawks were the second seed and are headed to regionals as an at-large bid.

“We’re very equally matched teams; we have great players and they have great players,” Viera head coach Bob Nunn said. “It was just a hard-fought contest. It was hard to lose, but we got more games to play.”

Here are three takeaways from Monday night.

‘Worst game I’ve played all season’

Lenhardt had an honest assessment of his night. And it wasn't as rosy as one would expect.

The senior only produced just one goal and one assist before his late heroics, but he had backup. Talen Perez also had three goals while Ryan Hall and Andrew Ern had two apiece, with Ern scoring midway through the fourth quarter to put Vero Beach ahead for the first time since the second quarter.

Coupled with Croom’s late defensive play, Lenhardt may have been the star of the night but it was far from a one-person effort.

“I think I actually played, pound for pound, the worst game I’ve played all season,” Lenhardt said. “Those first three, 3½ quarters, between my offense and my defense, my guys stepped up huge in my absence and they kept us in that game. They continued to trust me late in the game and put us in a position where I could get the ball and put it in the back of the net.”

‘No heads down’

As the two teams walked toward their benches for halftime, Vero Beach players could be heard shouting, “No heads down.”

Viera took control during the second half, turning a 4-1 deficit into a 7-4 advantage within a 12-minute span. But the Indians only needed to draw on their experience to know the game wasn’t over. They trailed the Hawks during last season’s district title game before holding them scoreless in the second half.

“The mentality was, we’ve been here before, we know what to do and we know what we’re capable of; keep the heads up and focus on what you need to do,” Lenhardt said.

Slowing down Landon Almonte became the focal point. The senior attacker almost single-handedly erased Viera’s deficit, scoring the team’s first three goals while assisting on the fourth.

Vero Beach increasingly threw double teams when Almonte had the ball in the second half.

“We had to make some adjustments and my assistant coach Jeff (Ley) did a real good job on the defense,” Whipple said. “We really held them down in the second half.”

Round three

Vero Beach players and coaches basked in their victory at midfield as they took photos with yet another trophy.

Standing roughly 15 yards away to their right was the team they had just beaten. Viera was in no hurry to hop on its charter bus and head north. Instead, they watched and took in what painfully slipped through their fingers.

“I wanted them to feel it,” Nunn said. “It’s got to hurt. If it doesn’t hurt, it’s not worth something. … I’d rather be in the battle and lose than not be in the battle at all. They have to learn as young men that it takes hard work and sacrifice.”

Interestingly enough, the two teams may see each other once more.

The Indians and Hawks entered districts ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in Region 2-2A, with the former trailing Timber Creek by 0.023 points in the ratings while the latter held less than a one-point advantage over West Orange, which captured the District 5-2A title.

Movement is very much possible, but if the rankings stay as they are, Viera would travel again to Vero Beach for a regional quarterfinal. The score through two games so far is Indians 25, Hawks 25.

“I hope that we don’t have to see these guys again, but if we do, I’m glad that it’s here.” Whipple said with a laugh.

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Boys Lacrosse: Vero Beach wins fourth consecutive district title in overtime