Furies boys' lacrosse wins NCISAA title
Posted: Saturday, May 21, 2016 7:43 pm
By Kegan Lowe Winston-Salem Journal
LEWISVILLE — For the first time in school history, the Forsyth Country Day School boys’ lacrosse team is the state champion, as the top-seeded Furies defeated No. 2 Cape Fear Academy 13-12 in the NCISAA Division II championship game Saturday afternoon.
Trailing 12-11 in the final moments of the fourth quarter, Forsyth Country Day junior Jonathan Winbush scored the tying goal with 2:14 remaining before fellow junior Ben Burnett scored the championship-clinching goal with only 7.9 seconds left on the clock.
Coach Marc Winbush, Jonathan’s father, who plays attack for FCD, said after the game the most rewarding part of winning the program’s first state title is to finally have tangible evidence of just how far the team has advanced in his six years at the helm.
“At one point we had only five guys on the sideline, being a small school, and we would have to bring up middle schoolers to play,” Marc said. “Just the hard work and tenacity has been awesome to watch.
“Most of our guys don’t play the sport all year round — only three of them do — so it is awesome to see everyone step up in the biggest moment and play together.”
In the beginning, it didn’t appear the Furies (13-9) were going to have their championship moment, as Cape Fear (15-8) scored four of the game’s first five goals and led 4-1 late in the first quarter.
Coming from behind isn’t a foreign concept for Forsyth Country Day, however, as the Furies had an overall record of just 6-9 after their first 15 games this season, before winning their final four regular season games and then all three of their playoff games.
“We have been resilient all year and there is a lot of character on this team,” Marc Winbush said. “Unfortunately, I’m sorry to say that we have been down numerous times throughout the season, but we showed that great character and came back by believing in each other.”
The comeback was fueled by Burnett, a midfielder who scored four first half goals, including one with less than 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter, to give Forsyth Country Day an 8-6 lead at the break.
The Hurricanes responded in the second half, outscoring FCD 3-2 in the third quarter and then scored three of the first four goals in the fourth quarter to take a 12-11 lead with 7:42 remaining.
Cape Fear was led by senior Matt Bangert, who was named to the 2016 NCISAA All-State team after the game, and freshman Preston Meehl, as both players scored three goals for the Hurricanes.
Due to a Cape Fear penalty with less than three minutes remaining, Jonathan Winbush scored the game-tying goal on a man-up advantage, his third goal of the afternoon, to set the stage for Burnett’s dramatic winner.
Holding the ball for the final shot, Burnett received a pass on the right side of the field before making one Hurricanes defender miss with a quick step to his left and fired a low line-drive that snuck past White for his sixth goal of the game and the program’s first state title.
“Ben is our MVP,” Marc Winbush said. “He is an extremely hard worker and we always trust the ball in his hands, especially late in the game.”
It was the second time this season the Furies had defeated Cape Fear, as Forsyth Country Day traveled to Wilmington on March 11 and came away with an identical 13-12 victory in the only regular-season meeting between the two sides.
After the game, the Forsyth Country Day trio of Burnett, Jonathan Winbush and junior Ben Merrick were all honored as members of the 2016 NCISAA All-State team.
Posted: Saturday, May 21, 2016 7:43 pm
By Kegan Lowe Winston-Salem Journal
LEWISVILLE — For the first time in school history, the Forsyth Country Day School boys’ lacrosse team is the state champion, as the top-seeded Furies defeated No. 2 Cape Fear Academy 13-12 in the NCISAA Division II championship game Saturday afternoon.
Trailing 12-11 in the final moments of the fourth quarter, Forsyth Country Day junior Jonathan Winbush scored the tying goal with 2:14 remaining before fellow junior Ben Burnett scored the championship-clinching goal with only 7.9 seconds left on the clock.
Coach Marc Winbush, Jonathan’s father, who plays attack for FCD, said after the game the most rewarding part of winning the program’s first state title is to finally have tangible evidence of just how far the team has advanced in his six years at the helm.
“At one point we had only five guys on the sideline, being a small school, and we would have to bring up middle schoolers to play,” Marc said. “Just the hard work and tenacity has been awesome to watch.
“Most of our guys don’t play the sport all year round — only three of them do — so it is awesome to see everyone step up in the biggest moment and play together.”
In the beginning, it didn’t appear the Furies (13-9) were going to have their championship moment, as Cape Fear (15-8) scored four of the game’s first five goals and led 4-1 late in the first quarter.
Coming from behind isn’t a foreign concept for Forsyth Country Day, however, as the Furies had an overall record of just 6-9 after their first 15 games this season, before winning their final four regular season games and then all three of their playoff games.
“We have been resilient all year and there is a lot of character on this team,” Marc Winbush said. “Unfortunately, I’m sorry to say that we have been down numerous times throughout the season, but we showed that great character and came back by believing in each other.”
The comeback was fueled by Burnett, a midfielder who scored four first half goals, including one with less than 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter, to give Forsyth Country Day an 8-6 lead at the break.
The Hurricanes responded in the second half, outscoring FCD 3-2 in the third quarter and then scored three of the first four goals in the fourth quarter to take a 12-11 lead with 7:42 remaining.
Cape Fear was led by senior Matt Bangert, who was named to the 2016 NCISAA All-State team after the game, and freshman Preston Meehl, as both players scored three goals for the Hurricanes.
Due to a Cape Fear penalty with less than three minutes remaining, Jonathan Winbush scored the game-tying goal on a man-up advantage, his third goal of the afternoon, to set the stage for Burnett’s dramatic winner.
Holding the ball for the final shot, Burnett received a pass on the right side of the field before making one Hurricanes defender miss with a quick step to his left and fired a low line-drive that snuck past White for his sixth goal of the game and the program’s first state title.
“Ben is our MVP,” Marc Winbush said. “He is an extremely hard worker and we always trust the ball in his hands, especially late in the game.”
It was the second time this season the Furies had defeated Cape Fear, as Forsyth Country Day traveled to Wilmington on March 11 and came away with an identical 13-12 victory in the only regular-season meeting between the two sides.
After the game, the Forsyth Country Day trio of Burnett, Jonathan Winbush and junior Ben Merrick were all honored as members of the 2016 NCISAA All-State team.
