Auburn varsity Lax claws past Hoover

Auburn Varsity Lacrosse – McGinty leads Tigers in win over Hoover.

Auburn, AL – The Auburn High School varsity lacrosse squad knocked off the Hoover Bucs (3-6) Sunday afternoon at Duck Samford Stadium. Auburn defender Joey McGinty proved the Tigers with a spark, on both ends of the field, that lead to a 9-7 come-from-behind win over the Bucs.

McGinty was active on the defensive end of the field with five cased turnovers and four ground ball while chipping in three assists on offense. Late in the fourth quarter, with the game tied, McGinty made a steal, took the ball the length of the field and found Preston Cole who scored the go-ahead goal putting the Tigers on top for good. Cole ended the day with four goals, two courtesy of assist from McGinty.

Auburn attackman Ryan Torres the the game midway through the fourth before the McGinty to Cole connection put the Tigers on top with 3:36 remaining. Sixteen seconds after Cole put the ball in the net Auburn senior midfielder Coley Blythe sealed Hoover’s fate with a blistering outside shot to put the Tigers up by a pair. Auburn held the Bucs offense in check as the final three minutes ticked off the Duck Samford Stadium scoreboard.

Auburn head coach Ben Hunt characterized the game as an ugly win.

“The game was crazy at times. I’m proud of our boys for fighting ’til the end.” Hunt said. “We have some tough kids and just when it seemed like things weren’t going our way Joey McGinty made a play to change the game.”

Auburn moves to 7-2 on the year in Alabama high school varsity lacrosse play. The Tigers travel to Birmingham Thursday evening to take on the 6-4 Briarwood Christian Lions.

The Bucs return to action Tuesday afternoon, hosting the Jackson-Olin Mustangs at Hoover East (0-9).

The Auburn lacrosse JV squad was also in action Sunday afternoon, defeating Hoover 5-4 in sudden-death. Crawford Morris, who had two goals on the day, scored the game winner for the Tigers. The contest was marred with penalties for both teams with Hoover receiving eight minutes of non-releasable penalties.