Lakeridge boys upset Jesuit 10-9 to win OHSLA title

Published 1:07 am Sunday, June 8, 2025

By Miles Vance

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The Lakeridge boys lacrosse team beat Jesuit 10-9 in the OHSLA state championship game at Ida B. Wells High School on Saturday, June 7. (Miles Vance)

It was the ultimate match-up.

It was King Kong vs. Godzilla.

It was the immovable object vs. the irresistible force.

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It was the top-ranked Jesuit boys lacrosse team vs. No. 2 Lakeridge in the Oregon High School Lacrosse Association state championship at Ida B. Wells High School on Saturday, June 7.

The 2025 finale – held under sunny skies in upper-80s temperatures – lived up to the hype, too, with Jesuit closing within one goal in the final minutes before Lakeridge escaped to win 10-9 and secure its first state championship since 2013.

“It’s everything,” said Lakeridge senior defender Kelley Lamb, the 2025 OHSLA Player of the Year. “I’ve been dreaming about this for four years and I’m just so happy we could pull it off.”

“There was never a doubt. Never a doubt,” said Pacer senior defender Charley Nauheim. “(The key) was trusting our boys. We had it the whole way.”

“Jesuit’s an incredible team so we knew we were going to have to play the whole 48 minutes,” added senior midfielder Kellen Aird, who finished with one goal, one assist and one ground ball. “It was just great, great to see our defense finish it out.”

With the win, the second-ranked Pacers’ 19th straight, Lakeridge finished its year at 21-1 overall after winning the Three Rivers League.

Lakeridge got two goals each from senior attack Davis Reardon (along with one assist), senior midfielder Sean McCarty and freshman attack Enzio Fedrizzi (along with one ground ball), while senior faceoff specialists Cash Groves and Tristan Martin teamed for 11 ground balls and senior goalie Nolan Darcy made seven saves.

“This means the world,” Reardon said. “I’ve been looking forward to this since freshman year. I wouldn’t trade this team for the world.”

“(Today is) definitely up there,” said Darcy, the championship game’s Most Valuable Player. “100%. I’m pretty sure it’s probably number one. It means a lot.”

The top-ranked Crusaders, meanwhile, saw their 13-game winning streak snapped and ended their year with a 20-2 overall record after winning the Metro League. Both of Jesuit’s losses came to Lakeridge, including a 5-4 overtime setback to the Pacers back on April 12.

The Crusaders were led by senior attack Brady Bayne’s three goals (along with one ground ball), two goals each from senior midfielder Thatcher Killian (along with one assist and two ground balls) and junior midfielder Davis Dolp, while senior midfielder Jack Ryan finished with six ground balls.
Jesuit broke on top early when senior Deuce Bechtold scored three minutes into the game, but the Pacers answered with three straight scores – two from Reardon and one by junior Beckett Godfrey – and carried a 3-2 edge into the second quarter.

Jesuit drew even at 4-4 in the second frame on back-to-back goals by Dolp and Bayne, but Lakeridge came back strong to score three unanswered goals before halftime, including two in the final 1 minute, seven seconds of the half.

Junior Jacen Wilbur kicked off that three-goal run when he took a pass from Reardon and scored from short range. Near the end of the half, Fedrizzi connected with 1:07 to go, and with just five seconds remaining, Wilber set up McCarty’s first goal to give Lakeridge a 7-4 lead.

The two teams traded shots in the third quarter, with Jesuit getting goals from Dolp and Killian, while Lakeridge answered with scores from McCarty and Aird to take a 9-6 lead into the fourth period.

But the Crusaders strung together a 3-1 edge at the start of the fourth to close within 10-9 – their goals from Killian, freshman George Malkiel and Bayne – with Bayne’s score assisted by junior Elliott Hire with 1:59 left in the contest.

Jesuit had two more possessions in the remaining seconds, the first after Killian won a ground ball and the second after the Pacers turned the ball over with 35 seconds to go.

But Darcy, Lamb, Nauheim and Martin held strong down the stretch, with Darcy winning a late ground ball to seal his team’s victory.

“Our defense, they’ve been the cornerstone of our team the whole year, so of course, they were going to finish it out,” Aird said.

“It’s a great way to go,” Lamb said. “I’ve been waking up from dreams about this. This is all I’ve been thinking about.”

“These are my boys and my brothers for life,” Reardon added. “It’s all love and we earned it.”

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