By Erik Harris
TRUSSVILLE – Both Hewitt-Trussville lacrosse teams notched big wins over Vestavia Hills on Wednesday night. According to Hewitt-Trussville coach Kris Knisely, Vestavia Hills is the lacrosse mecca in Birmingham.
The Lady Huskies finished things up with an 11-10 win over No. 3 Vestavia Hills in a game that came down to the final second.
“This win is a monumental win for our program,” said Hewitt-Trussville coach Tom McCormick. “To beat a team with a highly respected and established program is proof of all the hard work our girls have put in.”
Hewitt-Trussville managed to build a three-goal lead going into the break, but the Lady Rebels struck back to take an 8-7 lead in the second half.
Despite a 4-0 Vestavia Hills’ run, McCormick’s girls didn’t retreat. Instead, they swung back to even the score at 8 before freshman Hailey Wilcox delivered the go-ahead goal with fewer than 60 seconds remaining.
Still, goalie Alyssa Newman had to fight off three Vestavia Hills’ shots from close range in the closing seconds.
“To have the girls follow up right behind us and beat their girls’ team, (who is) third in the state, was also a fantastic accomplishment,” Knisely said. “All the credit goes to the kids.”
Things weren’t as tense in the guys’ game, as the Huskies controlled a 12-4 contest. The victory improved their season record to 3-2.
Mitchell Peterson and Trevor McBride combined to net half of the team’s 12 goals. Both guys worked their way to clean shot attempts and capitalized with hat tricks. Also contributing to Hewitt-Trussville’s scoring total was Ben Wedlund, Daniel Rhodes and Carter McAlpin.
“At first we had a big burst, but after that, everybody wanted some,” McBride said. “They saw everybody get hyped and they just wanted to get in on it. Everybody was sharing the ball.”
On the defensive end, goalie John Clayton had what coach Jamey Curlee called a “fantastic game.” His 15 blocked shots helped the Huskies secure their third win of the season, which surpasses their total from 2014.
“Our team was just locking it down, they made sure they didn’t get any really good shots on us,” Clayton said. “It was mostly the defense getting in their sticks, making sure it wasn’t a really good shot.”
Hewitt-Trussville now looks likely to reach the postseason and is a few more wins away from home field advantage in the playoffs.
“I think we can go all the way if we just keep pushing, just keep trying and don’t let up,” Peterson said.