St. Xavier lacrosse falls in Division I state championship game to Dublin Jerome

COLUMBUS, Ohio − Playing in its first Division I state boys lacrosse championship since 2019, St. Xavier's bid for a state title came to an end with a 12-10 loss to Dublin Jerome at the Historic Crew Stadium on Saturday night.

"Just basically (gonna say) how proud we are of them," St. Xavier head coach Nate Sprong said. "Things didn't go our way tonight, but that doesn't change how proud we are of the team."

St. Xavier is the state runner-up for the second time in program history (2019) since the Ohio High School Athletic Association sanctioned lacrosse in 2017. The Bombers were Division I state champions in 2018.

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Dublin Jerome was making its third consecutive appearance in the OHSAA DI state final and captured its second state championship (2021).

Here's how the action unfolded in Columbus.

3 keys to St. Xavier's season-ending loss

• Inclement weather in the Columbus area delayed the second half of the Division I girls state championship game, which pushed back the start of the St. Xavier-Dublin Jerome by over two hours. In the opening period, soggy conditions at the north end of the field played a factor with St. Xavier's offensive attack with multiple players losing their footing.

"It (earlier rain) did at first, but this is a great field, a great facility," Sprong said.

Less than a month ago on May 10, Dublin Jerome pulled away from St. Xavier in a regular-season contest, 16-10. Sprong said there were not many new wrinkles from the Celtics' gameplan from how Friday played out.

"They (Dublin Jerome) really looked to push transition and pressure the ball. We did a decent job handling it," Sprong said.

• Dublin Jerome opened up a 3-0 lead after seven minutes of action before St. Xavier's offense finally broke through on junior midfielder Brady Bennett's goal at the 50-second mark. That was enough to jumpstart the Bombers' attack as Khalif Hocker, Magnus Violet, Johnnie Guttman and Luke Sprong would each find the net in the first five minutes of the second stanza to give St. Xavier a 5-3 lead.

"That (5-0 run) kind of defines their character all season with their ability to fight back against adversity like that," Sprong said.

Dublin Jerome would answer with two goals to make it a 5-5 tie going into the intermission.

St. Xavier junior Alex Sharma tied the game at 6-6 early in the third quarter and Bennett's second goal at the 7:11 mark gave the Bombers their final lead of the night. Dublin Jerome had an answer again, scoring the next four goals to take a 10-7 advantage.

St. Xavier sophomore attacker Luke Sprong's unassisted tally at the 1:42 mark ended the Celtics' momentous sprint and trimmed the Bombers' deficit to two going into the final stanza.

• Dublin Jerome was playing with a two-man advantage early in the fourth quarter, but St. Xavier seemed to strike gold with a counterattack goal near the 10-minute mark. The Bombers were called for offsides, however, and the ruling stood after a brief conference with the officials.

The shorthanded goal would've made it a one-score game (10-9), but Dublin Jerome senior attacker Marek Tzagournis' game-high fifth goal of the game gave the Celtics an 11-8 lead. Brady Sestili would add another goal for Dublin Jerome with just over four minutes remaining.

"We had that goal called back. They called us for offsides, and we clearly weren't offsides. That was a complete mix-up, and the goal should've counted after they conferenced together," Sprong said. "That would've completely shifted the momentum to a one-goal game. That happens in sports. It's hard to explain that to the kids. But if that's the worst thing that happens in their lives, they're living a pretty good life."

Bennett notched a hat trick for St. Xavier while sophomores Violet and Hocker each scored twice.

Senior sendoff

St. Xavier finishes the year 18-6. The Bombers started the season 11-0 but dropped five of seven games entering the tournament. St. Xavier responded by winning its previous five postseason affairs by a combined score of 90-22, including Wednesday's overtime thriller over Upper Arlington in the state semifinals.

St. Xavier's seniors were Jackson Davidson, Max Bonner, Patrick Crowley, Andrew Oerther, Sam Hawkins, Owen Hodgett, George Barzizza, Jack McMurry and Evan Miller.

Bonner, a Michigan University commit, fielded four ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers on Saturday. Hodgett and Davidson combined for three ground balls.

"This is a culmination of four years for the seniors and a long, hard season," Sprong said. "This senior group is a great group. They led the way the entire season. We had a relatively young team, so they didn't have the easiest job at times, but I couldn't be more proud of them."