'One of the best feelings of my life': Gulf Breeze boys lacrosse tops rival Pensacola Catholic

Rivalry night did not disappoint.

The Gulf Breeze boys lacrosse team defeated foe Pensacola Catholic on the road, 9-8, on Friday in what turned out to be a strong defensive battle. Pensacola Catholic head coach Garrett Purcell said that, after the first game between the rivals, both teams instituted a zone defense.

That’s why it was such a tight offensive game, Neither team led by more than one goal, and a majority of the game was spent tied.

“We forced outside shots, so I could see the ball easily and make good saves,” Gulf Breeze goaltender Cody Lee said.

“Both teams made adjustments after the first game, and it just became a puzzle to see who could stay one step ahead,” Purcell said. “Going down to the last 10 seconds was one of the most exciting games I think I’ve ever been a part of in this rivalry.”

The game came down to the final five minutes of the contest. Gulf Breeze led 8-7 after Landon Pickrell fired a shot from a 45-degree angle. Less than a minute later, while playing on a man-advantage, Pensacola Catholic’s Caden Jasso scored his fourth goal of the game.

The Crusaders had passed the ball around the field for a majority of the man-advantage before Jasso took possession and ripped a shot off.

“Jasso absolutely saved us. He kept us in it. He has a motor that I’ve never seen,” Purcell said. “He was, absolutely, our best player tonight.”

With 2 minutes, 22 seconds left in the game, Gulf Breeze found room inside the arc when Austin Mickler threw a pass to Cooper Carlock in the middle of the field wide open. Carlock sent a laser into the back of the net past goaltender Noah Watkins.

“It was one of the best feelings of my life,” Carlock said. “Just to have our team come together and have that win and chemistry, it really was cemented with that goal. That’s a team effort. That’s not me. That’s everybody else on this field.”

The Crusaders had a couple chances to tie the game once again in the dying seconds, but Lee stopped everything – either with his stick or his body. Parker Hager ran in close on net, one-on-one with Lee.

“I just dropped down, made the save with my leg, it bounced out and our team got the ball and sent it downfield,” Lee said. “As soon as it bounced out, I was yelling out, ‘Rebound!’ As soon as we got the ball, I was like, ‘Yep. We’re good. We got the W.’”

The loss was Pensacola Catholic’s first of the season, now falling to a 7-1 record. The Crusaders go to Booker T. Washington on Monday for a 6 p.m. contest. Gulf Breeze (9-1) has a quick turnaround with a home game against Parkview (Georgia) at noon on Saturday.

“We’re living one win at a time. This is big for us,” Gulf Breeze first-year head coach Justin Sonntag said. “We’re working on trying to keep the positive energy going. Hopefully we can get a good seed going into playoffs, hopefully make a difference.”

“This win means everything to me and the team. Catholic’s been our rival for awhile,” Carlock said. “We’re now up to our best record in awhile. We’re going to ride this high for awhile, but not let it get to our heads.”

‘I can’t speak highly enough of him’

It was the worst of times, at first.

Lee, during the first quarter of play, took a shot right in the groin. Then the bottom string of his stick brock, having to grab is backup stick. And when a bad pass ensued, Lee said he had to go off the field for a couple minutes to relax.

“That one was not fun,” Lee said. “It hurt bad.”

And then, it was the best of times.

Lee finished the night with 14 saves on 22 shots. But his biggest save came in the last minute of the game, as Pensacola Catholic ran in one-on-one.

“I just dropped down, made the save with my leg, it bounced out and our team got the ball and sent it downfield,” Lee said. “As soon as it bounced out, I was yelling out, ‘Rebound!’ As soon as we got the ball, I was like, ‘Yep. We’re good. We got the W.’”

“Cody’s a four-year player and a great leader,” Sonntag said. “He’s seen a lot of minutes. No moment is too big for him. He’s ready to go all the time. … I can’t speak highly enough of him.”

Finding the inside

For most of the goals Gulf Breeze scored, they were one of two ways.

Option A was players cutting in and running to the front of the net after finding some room. Mickler’s first goal of the game and Ethan Rudick’s goal, the Dolphins’ second of the night, were prime examples.

Mickler wrapped around and created some room with a shot in close. Rudick, a long stick midfielder/defenseman, went coast-to-coast after Gulf Breeze forced a turnover and tied the game early in the second stanza.

Option B was long-range shots from the top of the arc, opting to get shots through traffic. Gulf Breeze tried to find space in the middle, but couldn’t create room with Pensacola Catholic’s zone defense.

Don’t get Mickler wrong, however. Those long-range shots are fun sometimes.

“The sound and all that, and the boys getting up for you, it’s incredible,” Mickler said.

But Gulf Breeze finally connected on a pass to the middle right in front of the goalie when it counted most: on Carlock’s game-winner.

“We had been looking for those looks all night, focusing on the outside. We just kept running our stuff,” Carlock said. “I’m an inside guy, and it worked.”

“We struggled to do it all day. We finally got the look,” Sonntag.

While the looks from the outside shots were there, and they did end up in the back of the net, Sonntag said now the focus turns to better shot placement. Instead of opting for high shots into the back of the net – which seemed to go over the crossbar several times for Gulf Breeze on Friday – Sonntag said he’d like to see more low or bounce shots.

“Instagram, it’s killing me, man,” Sonntag said with a laugh, referring to players watching top lacrosse highlights on social media. “Bouncers, if they go, they’re just as good. A goal’s a goal.”

“All the shots we had, they were all going low,” Mickler said. “We’ve got to keep drilling those in our future games.”

‘I don’t think we’ve had a moment like this since I’ve been here’

Up until earlier this season, Gulf Breeze had a stronghold on the Pensacola Catholic-Gulf Breeze rivalry. The Crusaders beat the Dolphins for the first time since 2017, according to MaxPreps. It had been a long time coming.

But Gulf Breeze wasn’t going to let it happen twice.

Most games in the rivalry had been decided by multiple goals. Friday was a different story.

“As much as everyone loves this rivalry, I don’t think we’ve had a moment like this since I’ve been here. It’s usually been big swings and multi-goal wins,” Purcell said. “I think both sides can benefit from a game like this, realizing we have to play down to the final second.”

Where Pensacola Catholic struggled, however, was in faceoffs. The Crusaders won just five draws over the course of the game.

“When you’re not winning faceoffs, it’s hard to stay in a game. We tried to make some adjustments on the wings in the second half,” Purcell said. “We got a few more faceoffs, but Gulf Breeze did an incredible job on the faceoff. …

“We knew it was going to be a battle.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Gulf Breeze boys lacrosse beats rival Pensacola Catholic in defensive fight