Boys Lacrosse: Freddy Noday, seniors turn in big season for Olentangy Liberty Patriots

Down and out against Dublin Jerome in the Division I, Region 1 final May 27, senior Freddy Noday sparked a run at the end of the third quarter that gave the Olentangy Liberty boys lacrosse team a chance.

Noday won a string of faceoffs in the final 3 minutes, 25 seconds of the third that helped second-seeded Liberty rally for five goals to pull within 15-11 by the end of the period. Ultimately, top-seeded Jerome recovered in the fourth and ended the Patriots’ season with a 19-11 win.

“It starts at the X, but it really starts when everybody is working together,” Noday said. “Everybody feeds off each other. We get a run going and everybody’s getting hyped up. You just want to keep it going.”

Liberty finished 14-8 overall and tied Orange and Hilliard Davidson for second in the OCC-Central Division at 3-2, behind Upper Arlington (5-0).

The Celtics already had beaten Liberty 14-3 on May 4.

“The first time we played Jerome, we kind of came out soft,” Noday said. “We thought we were going to lose and we came out like we were going to lose. But I think we stepped it up (the second time). We all believed in ourselves and we all believed in our abilities.”

Noday, who was region Player of the Year as a faceoff specialist and first-team all-league, won 72.5% of his draws. He also led the Patriots with 130 ground balls.

Seniors Charlie Howenstine (attacker), Dan Kelley (defender), Jacob McDermott (midfielder) and Max Ruppe (goalie) and juniors Braydon Spencer (midfielder) and Owen McGee (attacker) were first-team all-region. Junior Grant Kenley (defender) and freshman Jake Struck (midfielder) were second-team all-region.

“We had a really good group of seniors – 19 kids out of 34 (players),” coach Jason Godwin said. “There’s a lot of talent below. Our seniors’ legacy is more along the lines of work ethic – the hard work, the attitude, team (and) family. If that can rub off on the junior and the sophomore class, we’ll stay dangerous.”

Howenstine (33 goals, 46 assists), Kelley (36 groundballs, 16 caused turnovers), Ruppe (165 saves), Spencer (44 goals, 6 assists) and Noday also were first-team all-league. McGee (50 goals, 19 assists) and Kenley (52 groundballs, 19 caused turnovers) were second-team all-league and senior Luke Godwin (attacker; 35 goals, 23 assists) was honorable mention.

Howenstine set the single-season assist record, breaking the previous mark of 41 by Eric Necamp in 2016.

“We’ve got to be better at creating our own luck and be tough,” coach Godwin said. “I think that’s going to get us over the edge. You don’t just get lucky – you get lucky because you’re in the right spot.”

•Olentangy had a group of underclassmen in key positions, resulting in some growing pains. But the Braves found their footing in the second half of the season, winning eight of the final 11 games to finish 14-7 overall.

The turning point came April 19 in a 6-5 double-overtime win over Berlin in OCC-Cardinal play, starting a five-game winning streak.

The Braves finished league play at 2-3 in a three-way tie for third with the Bears and Hilliard Darby as Jerome (5-0) won the title.

“We definitely showed continued improvement,” coach Austin Ford said. “We definitely had a lot of guys grow up fast. We had a lot of guys that stepped in key roles that were freshmen, sophomores and juniors. Our starting goalie (Evan Gardner) was a freshman and had to grow up quick. Our main faceoff midfielder (Cole Kershner) was a freshman and had to grow up quick.”

Sophomore Ben Dorbish (attacker) had 64 goals and 39 assists to lead the Braves. Gardner had a .722 save percentage with 169 saves, and junior Bryce Collins (attacker/midfielder) added 31 goals and 25 assists.

Junior George Cecil (defender) was first-team all-region and seniors Mike Parsio (attacker) and Ryan Petrone (midfielder) were second-team all-region. Dorbish, Cecil (59 groundballs) and Petrone were second-team all-league and senior Tommy Kipfer (defender) was honorable mention.

“We had a great group of kids that enjoyed being around each other,” Ford said. “Sometimes it’s cliché in sports to say brotherhood, but I think our guys absolutely are. They act like they’re a family; they treat each other like they’re a family.”

•Orange continues to show progress under second-year coach Jarrod Gilliam, who was named Coach of the Year in Division I, Region 1 and the OCC-Central.

The Pioneers finished 13-7 overall and 3-2 in the league a year after going 9-8 overall and 1-4 in the OCC-Central.

“I thought we had a great year because we had a lot of guys new to varsity that had to come in and play key roles for us,” Gilliam said. “I think the team as a whole did great. They really came together, and they were working toward a common goal. That helped us pull out some tight games.”

The Pioneers had an eight-player senior class led by midfielders Jack Behre (first-team all-region), Blake Dustin (second-team all-region, honorable mention all-league; 16 goals, 20 assists, team-high 135 ground balls) and Cody Miller (38 goals, 10 assists).

Sophomore midfielder Ayden Hanna (first-team all-region, second-team all-league) led the team with 49 goals and 23 assists. Sophomore goalie Dawson Baker (second-team all-region) had 193 saves.

Junior defender Tyler Stearns (second-team all region and all-league) had 82 ground balls. Also expected to return are junior attackers Zac Arsalane (20 goals, 15 assists), Kyle Geller (22 goals, 6 assists) and Eli Gleckler (23 goals, 12 assists), junior midfielder Blake Bezold (19 goals, 2 assists) and freshman midfielder Will Musgrove (24 goals, 10 assists).

“I have been involved with a lot of teams, but the way this team came together was special,” Gilliam said. “Seniors through freshmen on varsity, they all clicked.”

—Scott Hennen

•Berlin battled injuries and close losses to show improvement in what became the swan song for third-year coach Dominique Alexander, who is resigning to become an assistant principal at Worthington Kilbourne.

The third-seeded Bears had won four consecutive games and five of six before losing to second-seeded Columbus Academy 10-9 in a Division II, Region 7 semifinal May 23 to finish 11-9. They had lost to the Vikings 10-1 on April 7.

“I was proud of how we handled adversity,” Alexander said. “We had tough losses to some good opponents, lost one in overtime and had (five) one-goal losses. We even lost (senior attacker/midfielder) Gavin (Angell) a couple of games. I was proud to see our kids step up and play like they did (against Academy).”

Angell, a Jacksonville signee, was first-team all-region and all-league with 49 goals, 20 assists and 45 ground balls. Senior attacker/midfielder Zack Zielinski (second-team all-region, first-team all-league) had 38 goals and five assists.

Senior midfielder Bennett Lawrence (honorable mention all-league) had 16 goals, three assists and 48 ground balls. Senior midfielder Connor Gavin had 25 goals, 11 assists and 30 ground balls, and senior defender Tyler Lambert added 31 ground balls.

“We call this group of seniors the first four because they were the first to be at Berlin all four years,” Alexander said. “They have played significant minutes from the start. They were part of the 2-19 team in the first season and have built us into being a well-respected program in central Ohio.”

Sophomore attacker midfielder Jonathan Garn had 20 goals, nine assists and 31 ground balls. Freshman goalie Carson Lansfersiek (first-team all-region, second-team all-league) had 181 saves, sophomore defender Aaron Nebraska led with 61 ground balls, sophomore midfielder Noah Sanchez had 46 ground balls and junior midfielder Zach Patton added 29 ground balls.

—Scott Hennen

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BERLIN

•Record: 11-9 overall

•OCC-Cardinal standings: Dublin Jerome (5-0), Thomas Worthington (4-1), Berlin (2-3), Hilliard Darby (2-3), Olentangy (2-3), Marysville (0-5) 

•Seniors lost: Gavin Angell, Julian Dent, Ayden Edge, Connor Gavin, Blake Gerst, Trey Keith, Tyler Lambert, Bennett Lawrence, Mason Pak, Colin Pethtel, Zach Rainey, Zach Rivera, David Sexton, Trent Williams and Zack Zielinski

•Key returnees: Jonathan Garn, Carson Lansfersiek, Aaron Nebraska, Zach Patton and Noah Sanchez

•Postseason: Def. Buckeye Valley 23-0; def. Dayton Oakwood 14-3; lost to Columbus Academy 10-9 in Division II, Region 7 semifinal

LIBERTY

•Record: 14-8 overall 

•OCC-Central standings: Upper Arlington (5-0), Hilliard Davidson (3-2), Liberty (3-2), Orange (3-2), Dublin Coffman (1-4), Hilliard Bradley (0-5)

•Seniors lost: Brock Buckerfield, Patrick Duggan, Nathan Foskey, Luke Godwin, Ryan Grohe, Charlie Howenstine, Declan Johnson, Dan Kelley, Jacob McDermott, Max Meyer, Collin Mulder, Freddy Noday, Mason Patrick, Danny Rucker, Max Ruppe, Ryan Russell, Seth Smollen, Alex Stackhouse and Andrew Stamp

•Key returnees: Ethan Brooks, Grant Kenley, Owen McGee, Luca Minniti, Braydon Spencer and Jake Struck

•Postseason: Def. Perrysburg 22-5; def. Avon Lake 17-6; def. Olentangy 17-7; lost to Jerome 19-11 in Division I, Region 1 final

OLENTANGY

•Record: 14-7 overall 

•Seniors lost: Adam Berberick, Malik Hines, Patrick Kershner, Tommy Kipfer, Khoi Nguyen, Michael Parsio and Ryan Petrone

•Key returnees: George Cecil, Bryce Collins, Ben Dorbish, Evan Gardner and Cole Kershner

•Postseason: Def. Coffman 14-7; def. Orange 11-8; lost to Liberty 17-7 in Division I, Region 1 semifinal

ORANGE

•Record: 13-7 overall

•Seniors lost: Jack Behre, Cam Dunlap, Blake Dustin, Cody Flowers, Zack Groger, Cody Miller, Quinn Ross and Sebastian Toot

•Key returnees: Zac Arsalane, Dawson Baker, Blake Bezold, Kyle Geller, Eli Gleckler, Ayden Hanna, Will Musgrove and Tyler Stearns

•Postseason: Def. Whitehouse Anthony Wayne 14-2; lost to Olentangy 11-8 in Division I, Region 1 quarterfinal

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Boys Lacrosse: Noday, seniors turn in big season for Liberty