In a boys lacrosse game dominated by extraordinary defense and solid goaltending on both sides, the difference for East came down to two simple centering passes.

With the score tied midway through the fourth quarter Saturday, Angels attacker Ben Allison was behind the Colorado Academy crease when he found midfielder Alex Vinton in perfect scoring position in front of the goal. Vinton's shot bounced past Mustangs goalie Noah Aptekar into the net, and East held on for a 3-2 victory in the Southern Conference.

The goal capped a slow-paced, deliberate game at All-City Stadium that saw outstanding ball control but little scoring - which frustrated the coaches. The Mustangs (7-1-1, 2-1), who never led, had 21 shots on goal. Perennial powerhouse East (7-2, 4-0)) managed just 17.

Allison was on the receiving end of a nearly identical goal in the second quarter, taking the centering pass from Mark Hild and converting to give East a 2-1 edge. Midfielder Russell Clark had the Angels' other goal, opening the game with a scoring drive to put the Angels up 1-0.

Sam Allen, Colorado Academy's leading scorer, provided all the offense his team could muster. The senior tied the game 1-1 on a slashing drive in the first quarter, then took an impressive assist from Jeb Burchenal in the third quarter and put the ball past Brown to tie the game at 2-2.

The goalies stepped up as well. Brown had seven saves, and Aptekar stopped six shots from the Angels. But it was the lack of scoring that had both coaches concerned.

The Mustangs, who went into Saturday's matchup averaging nearly eight goals per game, tried to fluster the Angels with a ball-control offense, according to Colorado Academy coach J.C. Pritchard.

"We did a great job possessing the ball. We played extraordinary defense," Pritchard said. "But when it was time to execute aggressively, when we had to make the shot, we threw the ball away. We threw it out of bounds."

The usually high-scoring Angels employed a new attack as well, with similar results.
"We came out with an offense designed for this game, and we didn't execute it," Barocas said. "Our offense was just kind of inept today."

Colorado Academy 1 0 1 0 - 2
East 1 1 0 1 - 3

Goals: Colorado Academy - Allen 2; East - Clark, Allison, Vinton. Assists: Colorado Academy - Burchenal; East - Allison, Hild.