Charlotte Latin boys wins fourth straight NCISAA lacrosse title

There’s a big reason that Charlotte Latin’s boys’ lacrosse team had won three straight state titles: Carson Song.

Song, a senior, capped his career Saturday by leading the host Hawks to a 15-10 victory against Raleigh Ravenscroft for their fourth consecutive N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association championship.

Song, who will play in college at Brown, scored three goals and assisted on five others for top-seeded Latin (17-6), which had to overcome a second-quarter rally by the third-seeded Ravens (15-2).

“There’s been a lot of ups and downs in the way we’ve been playing,” said Song, who wrapped up his final season with 46 goals and 80 assists. “But this was definitely one of the best games of my life.”

Jack Gitlin had four goals and Owen Armstrong added three for the Hawks, who bolted to a 5-1 lead with less than two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first quarter.

But the Ravens – who knocked off Charlotte Country Day in the semifinals Thursday – fought back to tie the score at 8at the half.

“We have the ability to get out to a hot start, but we also settle into the game at times,” Latin coach Dick Sipperly said. “They were getting behind us and getting some pretty easy goals. Once we figured that out and settled back into our defense, we were able to contain them pretty well. That second half showed it.”

The Hawks broke away in the third quarter, scoring four unanswered goals – three during an 18-second span early in the period – and seven total over the final two quarters. Meanwhile, they held Ravenscroft to a pair of fourth-quarter goals.

Quote

“We dug a big hole at the onset, but our kids came roaring back. We had our opportunities in the second half, but we didn’t take advantage of it. But I’m proud of the boys – they’re resilient. We just didn’t have enough.” – Ravenscroft coach Sandy Kapatos.

Worth mentioning

Scott Chappell, Jackson Monnin, Conrad Song, Denzel Pearson and Alex Massardo also had goals for Latin. … Hawks goalkeeper Nick Wilson made seven saves, five in the second half.

This story was originally published May 16, 2015 at 6:38 PM with the headline "Charlotte Latin boys wins fourth straight NCISAA lacrosse title."