DURHAM–George Benson can get used to Durham.
A resident of costal North Carolina, Benson took a joyous bus ride from Durham County Stadium to Carteret County on May 30 when his Croatan Cougars won the N.C. High School Athletic Association Men’s Lacrosse 3A/2A/1A State Championship. The Cougars ended the three-year dynasty of Lake Norman Charter 13-12 when Dain Sparks scored the game-winning goal with 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
It was the Cougars first state title in men’s lacrosse.
Five days later, Benson was back in Durham coaching a team that would provide another dramatic win. Once again, a Cougar would come up big in the clutch.
David Contreras scored with 1:35 remaining in regulation to lead the White squad over the Blue squad 14-13 to win the Bull City All-Star Cullen Classic for Cancer Men’s Lacrosse game at Koskinen Stadium inside Duke University last Wednesday. Trailing 13-11 with five minutes remaining, the White squad scored three unanswered goals to earn the victory.
Cullen Trent of Willow Spring High started the White squad rally with an overhand goal with 3:08 remaining in the fourth quarter. Exactly one minute later, Cody Keller of First Flight tied the game.
Croatan’s Graham Myers, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the State Championship game, earned the win in net.
Croatan’s Drew DeGeorge, who had a goal and three assists against Lake Norman Charter, played against his usual teammates on the Blue Squad.
“They got to compete against each other a little bit,” Benson said. “It was nice to see them out there running with some high-caliber players. What a great event this is and it’s for a great cause.”
The Bull City All-Star Game is a doubleheader of men’s and women’s games contested annually at Koskinen Stadium. It’s a benefit for the Tony Cullen Memorial Scholarship Fund and the Duke Cancer Institute. This year, the game donated $17,000 to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association to create more scholarships during a presentation between the two games.
Both of the Most Valuable Players in the men’s game came from the Blue Squad. Justin Conly of Cardinal Gibbons, who finished with one goal and four assists, was named the offensive MVP. Goalkeeper Wesley Little of Pinecrest was the Defensive MVP. Little came away with 13 saves.
Myers was presented the Tony Cullen Scholarship.
Tony Cullen played lacrosse at Duke for three seasons and led the Atlantic Coast Conference in total points in 1978 and 1979. He served nine seasons as the Blue Devils head coach. Afterwards, he started a successful communications company while serving as a college official for 12 years. He was part of the inaugural class of the North Carolina Lacrosse Hall of Fame in April 2002. A month later, he died after an extended battle with cancer.
Evan Friend of Cardinal Gibbons scored a hat trick in the opening quarter for the Blue team, which led 6-3 at the end of the first 15 minutes.
The White squad scored four straight goals in a span of 2:52 to tie the game in the second quarter. Croatan’s Matej Roth, Carrboro’s Leland Robinson, East Chapel Hill’s Griffin Galloway and Zach Kerner all scored for the White squad. Cameron Exley of Seaforth, also suiting up for the White team, tied the game off an assist from Green Level’s Harrison Murray with :24 remaining in the first half to give the White squad a 9-8 lead going into halftime.
Overall, there were nine ties in the men’s game.
Brower Evenhouse of Athens Drive put the Blues ahead with 13:06 remaining in the fourth quarter. Robert Saums of Northwest Guilford, who finished with a hat trick, put the Blue squad ahead 13-11 off a pass from Durham Academy’s Merritt Schultz.
Robert Crawford of Apex played goalkeeper for the White squad in the first and third quarters. Jack Altman of Wakefield played goalkeeper for the Blue team.
“I like playing in Durham,” Benson said with a wide smile on his face. “I’ll have to buy some lottery tickets before I go home.”
In the women’s game, the Blue Squad won 17-16. The offensive MVP was Lexi Mullahy of Cardinal Gibbons, who is going to play at the University of Michigan. Mullahy was also the MVP for Gibbons when they defeated Weddington to win the 4A State Championship on May 31.
Millbrook goalkeeper Allyson Gouveia, playing for the White Squad, was the defensive MVP. Laken Wright of Willow Spring scored the game-winning goal off a free position shot with :47 remaining.
Ashton Beale of Chapel Hill tied the game for the White team with 5:00 remaining off a pass from Cuthbertson’s Olivia Brooks.
