The Dragons advanced to the Elite Eight and State Quaterfinals with their win against Anderson on April 26. The Dragons had an offensive outburst and led 14-3 at the end of the third quarter.
The cushion provided Dragon Head Coach Bart Sullivan with the ability to spread minutes among his entire team, providing several underclassmen with their first taste of varsity experience in the 15-8 playoff win. It also gave him the ability to save his starters for their rematch against the Woodlands (Houston) on Sunday, April 27.
The Woodlands earned the #1 seed from the Southern District and entered the state quarterfinal match with a 10-game win streak, and a 16-2 overall record. This included a 16-11 win over the Dragons on March 22. The Woodlands senior-laden team had 10 players earning All-State honors.
The Dragons opened up the scoring as Senior Attackman Scott Dickey dodged toward the right side of Anderson’s goalie Hayden Stanifer. As Stanifer moved to cut his angle, Dickey alertly whipped a quick pass to fellow Senior Bryce Wasserman who easily deposited his shot for a 1-0 Dragons lead. The Highlanders then scored the next two goals to take a 2-1 lead.
Bryce Wasserman then found his younger brother Casey up top and the freshman landed his long range shot to tie it at 2. The Woodlands scored again to end the first quarter 3 to 2.
Each team tallied another goal in the second period, with Bryce Wasserman earning his second goal. The teams entered half-time with the Woodlands up 4-3.
Bryce Wasserman scored the first goal of the second half to knot the score at 4. Senior midfielder Connor Harryman, one of the state’s best faceoff men, then earned a faceoff win and broke free to score immediately and return the Dragons to the lead at 5-4.
The Woodlands kept the pressure on, and the Dragons experienced some passing miscues that lead to some turnovers and short possession times. This hampered the Dragons efforts to build offensive momentum and gave the Woodlands extra attempts which they converted to two goals to regain a 6 to 5 at the end of the third quarter.
The Highlanders gained another goal which allowed them to focus on possession and running out the clock. They were able to score an additional goal to stretch the lead to the 8-5 final score.
The Dragons will certainly miss the leadership shown by Dickey, Harryman, Wasserman and fellow Seniors Attackman Tim Barnhart, Midfielder Cooper Green and Defenders Kenny Lear and Charlie Compagnone. This tight-knit group can look back on their years knowing that they helped take the program to unmatched levels.
The Dragons will return Junior Midfielders Michael Cox, Brennan Mollere, Taylor Iniguez, Zach Bach, and Alex Barnes. Ryan Juraidini is the sole Junior Attackman. Junior Defenders include Justin Pearce and Goalie Josh Sommerhalder.
The majority of the Sophomore class are Defenders including Jack Welding, Nathan Beam, Jesse Havener and long-stick Middie Brody Danel. Offensively, the Sophomores were led by midfielder Dean DiBello along with lefty Attackman Holt Stairs.
The Freshman class, a group that reached the 7/8th grade Championship game last year, earned valuable experience including two starters in Attackman Casey Wasserman and Goalie Luke Millican. Midfielder A.J. Van den Dyssel and long-stick middie Nick Donfris also earned more playing time during the late season and playoffs. Attackman Carson Green, sidelined by an ankle injury late in the season, will also help fill the offensive void left by the graduating seniors.
Varsity game experience will also benefit other Freshman including Defensemen Michael Tsay, Victor Simpson, George Elmquist and Goalie Eryk Ross.
The Highlanders, the sole Southern District team remaining will face Jesuit in the second semifinal game next weekend at Friendswood (Houston) High School. The winner will face the winner of the rematch of Highland Park and Episcopal School of Dallas. ESD won the regular season game at home 10-7.
The strength of the Northern District is demonstrated by the fact that had the Dragons defeated Woodlands, all four teams in Division I and Division II State Championships would have come from the Northern District. In the four games Sunday, the North District outscored their opponents by a combined 50-19 score.
The Dragons finished their season with a 7-3 record in their last 10 games. This despite a schedule rated as more difficult than 81 of the 83 Division I and Division II teams in the state. The only two teams with more difficult schedule are fellow North District members Coppell and Highland Park.
The Dragon coaching staff includes Head Coach Bart Sullivan and Assistant Coaches Mark Lynch and Nick Bumpass, and Strength and Conditioning Coach Delano Carniero.