With 49 seconds left and trailing by a goal, the situation looked grim for the varsity boys lacrosse team. The Atoms hadn’t scored since the five minute mark in the third quarter and had been held without a legitimate scoring opportunity for the last five minutes. They had watched their 7-5 lead turn into an 8-7 deficit and had turned the ball over on their last two possessions. But coming out of a timeout, all that was put behind them and the Atoms scored two goals in those 49 seconds to stun Robinson, 9-8.
The Atoms entrusted All-American senior Nathan Miller with the ball and set him up in an isolation play for him to have the opportunity to tie the game. After beating his man, he unloaded a shot from the right side of the field at almost no angle and hit the net just inside the pipe by the goalie’s right foot to tie the game at 8-8 with 39 seconds left.
“I knew they would be quick to double me so I started my dodge pretty close in so I could get my hands free for a shot before the double came,” Nathan Miller said. “After I beat my guy, I had to fade away a little bit so the double couldn’t get to me. I lost a lot of angle because of it but my hands were free and I knew the goalie was worried about the near pipe so I shot it away from him at the far pipe and it went in.”
With newfound momentum and the stadium going wild, senior Andy Craig, who had dominated on faceoffs all night, won the ensuing faceoff for the Atoms and worked the ball around for Nathan’s younger brother, junior Ryan Miller. From almost the same spot as Nathan, Ryan cranked a shot that buzzed past the goalie’s left ear to give the Atoms the lead at 9-8.
“When Steve Craig passed it to me, I first thought I would have to keep working it around but, when I turned, I realized how open I was and knew I just had to take a few steps and shoot it hard,” Ryan Miller said. “I shot high and to the right side because the goalie was a righty and very good with our low shots and our coaches kept telling us to shoot high.”
The game was far from over, however, as there was still 21 seconds on the clock. Neither player won the faceoff cleanly and there was a large scrum for the ball around the faceoff “x.” Robinson came away with it, but senior Peter Hagen was able to check the ball out of the player’s stick and create another fight for the ground ball. Senior Bob Stevens eventually emerged from the fray with the ball and ran out the remaining five seconds of the game, securing a spot in the regional semi-finals for the Atoms.
“I knew someone had to come up with the ball for us and it came to me and I just ran for my life,” Stevens said.
When the final horn sounded, the players threw their sticks and gloves in the air and fans flooded out of the student section to storm the field and join in the celebration.
“I’ve never felt more pumped in my life than after the horn blew and I heard and saw all the fans rushing the field,” Ryan Miller said.
Nathan Miller led the team with four goals, while Hagen, Ryan Miller, Stephen Craig, senior Nick Lalande and sophomore Zack Lalande all had one.
The game was even more special for the Atoms because ten members of the 1997 undefeated State Champion AHS lacrosse team were in attendance. Before the game, one of those players came into the locker room and gave the Atoms a motivational speech about how they overcame a five-goal deficit in the last five minutes during their playoff run. Though not as severe a deficit, the May 19 game against Robinson was surely as dramatic and both produced the desired result.
With the win, the Atoms advance to the Northern Region Semi-Final game against two-time defending State Champion Langley. It will be played on Tuesday at Oakton at 7 p.m.
“[Beating Robinson] will give us the confidence to play against anyone and pull through when the games are close,” Hagen said.
The Atoms hope to harness their momentum and continue their playoff run, with the ultimate goal of being the second State Championship lacrosse team in AHS history.
