Sweetlax celebrates after winning the 2013 Elite National Championship at the DICK'S Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions presented by Pasco County.

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — In the opening minutes of the Elite National Championship Game at the 2013 DICK’S Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions presented by Pasco County, the game looked like it was shaping up to be a gut-wrenching sequel to last year’s title game for Sweetlax. This year’s team preferred a happy ending.

For the second straight year, Sweetlax was forced to rally after falling into an early hole in the Elite National Championship Game. After coming up just short of tying last year’s game in the final minutes, this year’s Sweetlax team rewrote the script in this year’s title game, defeating Road Warriors Elite, 12-7.

Championship Game MVP Troy Lauder

Road Warriors struck first on a goal, as midfielder Kessler Doolittle fed fellow middie Brine Rice for a goal just 40 seconds into the contest. Attackman Blake Curry extended the lead to 2-0 five minutes later on an unassisted tally.

From there, it was all Sweetlax, as attackman Jake Fox and midfielder Troy Lauder — who was named Championship Game MVP — combined for five unanswered goals. Curry struck back for Road Warriors with a pair of goals in less than a minute, cutting the Sweetlax lead to a single goal. But that was the closest it would get, as Sweetlax’s offense never broke its stride, scoring in bunches to stretch the lead from a single goal to a seven-goal margin at its peak. Despite a game performance from Road Warriors goalie Adam Sawicki, who faced 20 shots, the margin proved too difficult to overcome.

The catalysts for Sweetlax’s first half run were also the team’s leading scorers. Lauder finished with a game-high five points on three goals and two assists, while Fox was the game’s top finisher with four goals. Midfielder Brad McKinney also had a hat trick for Sweetlax, finishing with a total of four points. Middies Tim Gehlbach and Connor Kelly rounded out the team’s scoring with a goal apiece, while Lazarus Chaves (2A), Riley O’Sullivan (1A), Brandon Barker (1A), Max Spaan (1A), Robert Hudson (1A) and Kelly (1A) added helpers. Goalie Willie Klan played the entire game in net, earning the win with two saves on nine shots.

Curry was the top scorer for Road Warriors, burying a hat trick while also adding an assist. Attackman Brennen Ferguson finished with a pair of second-half goals, while attackman Marcus Abrams also added a late goal. Rice, as previously mentioned, provided the game’s opening score. In the assist department, attackman Tom Scanlon set up two goals, and middies Cody Gray and Doolittle added an assist apiece.

Road Warriors Elite and Sweetlax entered the tournament playoffs as the 1- and 2-seed, respectively, finishing pool play as the only two teams with an undefeated record. Road Warriors left little doubt in its pool play games, winning by an average of five goals. Sweetlax had a much tougher go of it, hanging on to win each of its first three games by a single goal.

In the playoffs, though, Sweetlax turned it on, trouncing 7-seed Jersey Thunder 2015, 16-1, before winning convincingly in a rematch with 3-seed Florida Elite, 11-5.

Top-seeded Road Warriors also ran through the competition on its side of the bracket, winning a pair of 11-4 games against 9-seed Burnaby Mountain Lacrosse and 5-seed Delaware Silverbacks before finally meeting its match in Sweetlax.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tournament Recap: