CVU boys lacrosse team wins championship for third time

by Mal Boright

Feasting in the finals is becoming old hat for Champlain Valley Union High veteran lacrosse attacker Matt Palmer.

A year ago, Palmer, now a junior, exploded for five goals as the Redhawks defeated South Burlington 11-8 for a second straight Division I state title.

Last Thursday, he scored the game winner with 20.2 seconds remaining in regulation as CVU nipped top-seeded Middlebury Union High 11-10 in a riveting championship contest at Castleton State College’s Spartan Stadium.

It was the sixth-seeded Redhawks third straight crowning victory at the Stadium, and fourth in five seasons. Little wonder that head coach Dave Trevithick said after the game for a second straight year, “We love to play here.”

During an 0-4 start to the season, there was doubt that the Redhawks would be back in Castleton to defend their two straight titles. But a 13-2 romp through the remainder of the season and playoffs put them in the Division’s penthouse.

Palmer time came just after Middlebury tied the game at 10 with a minute and 21 seconds left. CVU got the ball and ran down the clock while working around the outside of the Middlebury defense. Suddenly the ball got to Palmer on the right side of the Tigers’ net, and in a flash he launched a sidewinder rocket-like shot into an opening at the net for the winning goal.

“We had a play set up, but I saw an open net and shot,” said the CVU sniper after snapping in his fourth goal of the night. That goal gave Palmer a 4.5 goal average over two straight state championship games.

The late minutes of the final period were a nervous time for followers of both teams. With the score knotted at 8-8, sophomore Charlie “Mr. Elusive” Bernicke put on a variety of deft moves and scored at 6:23 to put the Redhawks in front.

For four minutes the defenses prevailed until CVU was called for a penalty, a night-long problem. Just seven seconds later, the Tigers’ Connor Quinn popped a goal from the man advantage situation, the Tigers’ fifth tally of the game while a player up.

The all-important face off was taken by CVU and Griffin DiParlo put the Redhawks ahead 10-9 with 1:34 left.

But the lead was short lived. The Tigers grabbed the face off and rolled down the field and just 13 seconds after DiParlo’s goal, Middlebury tied the score at 10 on a shot by freshman Jackson Donahue.

Shortly after, the Redhawks broke through with the winning goal.

Trevithick praised his defensive back line of seniors Sam Wilkins, Pat McCue, and Chris Reiss.

“They did an awesome job,” the coach said. ‘We just could not stay out of the penalty box.”

The Tigers managed only five goals with teams at equal strength.

“They (Tigers) were able to create an open man when they had the player advantage,” said  co-captain Wilkins of the heady Middlebury team.

“Middlebury is a tough team,” Trevithick added. ‘They came at us hard, as we knew they would.”

The Redhawks, who opened the campaign with four straight defeats, rolled to a 13-2 record the rest of the season, including the playoffs. The Hawks bumped off Middlebury twice during the regular season.

CVU scoring included a triple ripple of the nets from sophomore Owen McCuin, who added an assist to his three goals. Bernicke had two scores and a pair of helpers, while DiParlo found the net twice.

Junior Jack Hounchell fired a quartet of tallies for the Tigers.