By Kyle Auger

Co-Sports Editor

Westford Academy Varsity Lacrosse won an amazing overtime thriller yesterday 15-14 against Lincoln-Sudbury.

The early part of the game was dominated by the Ghosts and the game looked like a definite blow out. Westford jumped to a half time lead of 8-4.

However in the third quarter, Westford appeared like they thought the win was in the bag, and LS cranked up their intensity.  The third quarter was dominated by LS due to their relentless pressure on offense. This offense produced 8 goals in the third compared to a weak 2 goals for the Ghosts.

The trend continued early in the fourth as LS jumped out to a 14-10 lead with less than ten minutes left in the game. However, Westford’s defense started playing with ferocious physicality and scrappiness.  From this defense, the offense started to make more opportunities and you could feel the shift of momentum back to WA.

This momentum reached its fever pitch with 19 seconds left as Westford was swinging the ball around the perimeter, and the outlook looked grim as the Ghosts trailed 14-13 and LS held strong. However there was a seam towards the net, which senior Zach Ingalls pounced on and netted the tying goal, meaning this game would see extended time.

The overtime period was five minutes, sudden death, and the excitement was mounting faster than Westford’s goal count. Overtime began with a scrum at the face off circle and Westford went on the attack. A shot was rocketed on the net and clanged away off the post, giving LS a fast break. The fans on the Westford side all took a collective breath as a shot was whistled at goalie junior Ryan Peterson, however the shot was well wide and Westford received possession again.

The next possession was one of the most exciting in recent history, but at first it looked like nothing special, as they just threw the ball around the outside of the defense. Eventually the ball made it to the left side and the hero from the fourth quarter, Ingalls, surprisingly snapped a shot that found the back of the net giving the Ghosts the win.

This game went from a blowout victory, to a crushing loss, to a thrilling victory and one of the most exciting games in history.