Lake Norman falls to Cardinal Gibbons in boys’ 4A lacrosse finals
Ciaran Murphy stole the ball and started running Saturday. He didn’t stop until he had clinched the Class 4A boys’ lacrosse state championship for Cardinal Gibbons.
Murphy’s steal and goal with 1:39 left put the finishing touch on Cardinal Gibbons’ 10-8 victory over Lake Norman in the finals at Durham County Stadium.
It was the second straight runner-up finish for Lake Norman (20-5), which lost in overtime to Green Level in last year’s championship game.
Coach James Brugger’s Wildcats battled back several times Saturday before Murphy took charge.
The big play came with 1:39 remaining.
Lake Norman had closed to within 9-7 on a goal by two-time all-America Brandon DeBerardinis. The Wildcats got the ball back again near midfield, but Murphy knocked it loose from Cannon Wigginton’s stick. Murphy took off toward the Lake Norman goal and beat Wildcats goalkeeper John Torpy, another two-time all-America, with a sizzling shot.
DeBerardinis, a Harvard commit, finished the scoring with 14 seconds left.
Perhaps the real damage to Lake Norman’s hopes was done by Justin Conly, who two weeks ago became Cardinal Gibbons’ all-time leading scorer. Conly, who scored nearly 800 points in his career, notched three straight goals in the third quarter.
His first tally, with 7:04 remaining in the period, put the Crusaders (24-2) ahead to stay 6-5. Conly added goals with 4:24 left and again 90 seconds later. That gave his team an 8-5 lead, and Lake Norman never got within two goals again.
Just noting
▪ Lake Norman lost only twice to North Carolina teams this season. The other loss was to Cardinal Gibbons, 9-8, on March 22. The Wildcats also lost to a pair of South Carolina teams — Lucy Beckham and Oceanside Collegiate.
▪ DeBerardinis (three goals, eight shots), Kayden Robles (two goals) and Shea Souto (five ground balls) were Lake Norman’s statistical leaders. Cardinal Gibbons leaders were Conly (three goals, two assists), Brown Parker (three goals, eight shots), Zach Kerner (three goals, two assists), and Joey Janske (eight ground balls).
▪ Cardinal Gibbons had a 14-8 edge in faceoffs won.
▪ There were 15 seniors on the Lake Norman roster Saturday. That group included DeBerardinis, Torpy, Wigginton and Souto.
This story was originally published May 31, 2025 at 12:48 PM.
