BRIDGEPORT - With less than 30 seconds to go in the West Virginia lacrosse championship game Saturday, everyone on the field and in the stands knew who was going to take the last shot for Wheeling Central.
That person was Zack Stahl, all-state and All-American player for the Knights.
University had turned the ball over, and Stahl got the ball with just enough time to take a shot from near the 20-yard line and bounce it past the Hawks defenders and goalie Shaffer Work.
Wheeling Central went ahead, 13-12, and held on for the next 18 seconds to stun University and win the state title.
University led, 12-11, with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Stahl got free on a drive and evened the score at 12-12, with 8:21 left.
From that point until Stahl's next goal, neither team was able to capitalize on offensive opportunities near the net. Wheeling Central took a few makable shots with under 5 minutes left, but none connected with the net; one ball sailed high over the goal and hit the football uprights.
Fact Box
All-State Lacrosse
FIRST TEAM - ATTACK
Mike Mullen - Senior - Bridgeport
Louie Romano - Senior - Fairmont Senior
Zack Stahl - Senior - Wheeling Central
FIRST TEAM - MIDFIELD
Tyler Gambino - Senior - Linsly School
Nathan Haney - Senior - University
Kris Lankford - Junior - University
FIRST TEAM - LSM
Austin McKinney - Junior - Morgantown
FIRST TEAM - DEFENSE
Murphy Holloway - Senior - Linsly School
Ansh Kumar - Junior - George Washington
Dillon Leeson - Senior - Fairmont Senior
Chris Litton - Junior - University
FIRST TEAM - GOAL
Micah Dalton - Senior - Linsly School
SECOND TEAM - ATTACK
Ryan Lockwood - Senior - Buckhannon-Upshur
Kelvin Morris - Junior - Morgantown
Gardiner Smith - Junior - George washington
SECOND TEAM - MIDFIELD
Mike Felton - Senior - Wheeling Central
David Heck - Senior - Fairmont Senior
Nick Mason - Senior - Bridgeport
Connor Odekirk - Junior - George Washington
Zach Werner - Junior - Linsly School
SECOND TEAM - LSM
Matt Blust - Senior - Wheeling Central
SECOND TEAM - DEFENSE
Devin Calmbacher - Senior - Wheeling Park
Lucas Price - Junior - Morgantown
Tucker Wilkinson - Senior - Wheeling Central
SECOND TEAM - GOAL
Ian Anderson - Senior - Wheeling Park
HONORABLE MENTION - ATTACK
David Cho - Senior - Linsly School
Ben Coakley - Senior - University
Eric Davis - Sophomore - Wheeling Park
Brock Karolcik - Junior - University
Christopher Kidd - Senior - Herbert Hoover
Jimmy McCleery - Sophomore - Linsly
Chase Miller - Junior - Wheeling Central
Jordan Ross - Junior - Fairmont Senior
Alex Sims - Senior - Wheeling Park
HONORABLE MENTION - MIDFIELD
Nate Baron - Senior - Wheeling Park
Zach Burr - Sophomore - Buckhannon-Upshur
Travis Criner - Senior - Herbert Hoover
Willie Dilgard - Senior - University
Matt Floyd - Senior - Buckhannon-Upshur
Alex Gompers - Senior - Wheeling Central
Alex Klandorf - Senior - Morgantown
Logan Bane - Junior - Morgantown
The Hawks called a timeout with 44 seconds left to draw up a play to try score at the end of regulation.
"We had a play that fit the strengths of the team," University assistant coach Josh Seese said.
However, the play didn't go off as planned, and the Hawks turned the ball over to the Knights before Stahl made his game-winning shot.
Until then, University had actually done a reasonable job of containing Stahl, and the Knights in general, in the second half. Wheeling Central scored nine goals in the first half, but managed just four in the second.
Seese said his team didn't make any huge adjustments at halftime.
"We made a lot of mistakes (on defense) in the first half. We tried to make it simple in the second half," he said. "At crucial times in the game, we made mistakes."
As for stopping Stahl, Seese said the team had prepared its defense during the week for his play.
"We installed a lock-off on him, and people had to be ready to help," Sees said.
Overall, Stahl had seven goals for the game, while Chase Miller had four. Alex Gompers and Mike Felton had the other two for the Knights.
Gompers added a pair of assists.
West Virginia Boys Lacrosse Championship
(at Bridgeport)
Wheeling Central 13, University 12
Goals: Miller 4, M.Felton, Stahl 7, A.Gompers. Assists: B.Felton; Leonard, A.Gompers 2. Goaltender: Parise (6 saves), Sturgeon (6 saves).