Boys Lacrosse Stays Strong in OT Win

March 26, 2026

Last night against San Marcos was a game of big swings, and it proved one thing: the ‘26 Cate Rams have zero quit in them. Sandpaper and hard-hat companies have been calling me asking for endorsements from these guys. As Mark Levy said, “Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it.” This team just proved they have it in spades.

To kick off the game, San Marcos won the first draw and scored on their very first possession. It was a wake-up call, and the boys answered it immediately. We settled into our sets and spent the rest of the first quarter in a 4-0 tear. Alek Kroehl ’27 got the momentum back, tucking away a goal on a man-up play that was moved to perfection by Captain Oliver Charvel ’26. A few minutes later, the roles reversed—Charvel buried a shot of his own after sophomore Will Murray ’28 threaded a beautiful skip pass right through the heart of the San Marcos defense. We walked off the field at the end of Q1 up 4-1.

Then, the Rams got a little too comfortable and the pendulum swung the other way. San Marcos came out for the second quarter and completely flipped the script, putting up a 6-0 run. We went into the halftime break down 7-4, looking for a way to stop the bleeding.

During the halftime break, the team’s captains, Brady Mogensen ‘26, Braedo Parker ‘26, Oliver Charvel ‘26 and Tres Davidson ‘26 regrouped, settled the team down, and got ready to hunt. They channeled the team’s collective energy into fighting like lions, not with panic, but with precision and confidence.

One minute into the second half, Nolan Montoya ’27, who was a force all night at both ends, played the spark plug, hunting down a ground ball at midfield and moving it to Charvel. Charvel fired another pretty skip pass, this time to Captain Brady Mogensen ’26, who hammered it home. Cate kept the pressure on, executing another man-up play to pull within one at 7-6. San Marcos managed to push it to 8-6, but the Rams were rolling. Griffin Gruber ‘28, fresh off a fractured arm and with only two days of practice this season, chewed up major minutes on both ends of the field, showcasing his offseason work physically and mentally, with some silky moves and executing the offensive and defensive schemes well.

Will Murray ’28 decided to take the game over. He settled the ball, got us into our offensive shape, and dodged downhill like a bully, scoring a highlight-reel shot down the alley on the run, for his second of what would be 4 goals on the night. The Rams were knocking on the door from there—Mogensen and Tres Davidson ’26 both rang the pipes, and Murray dodged through a triple-team only to hit a third post. Davidson, after a penalty, found the ultimate redemption: he stepped out of the box right as we went man-up and ripped off a gorgeous turn around low-to-low burner to tie the game 8-8 to start the final frame.

Both teams battled hard, trading possessions and playing stingy defense. Captain Braedo Parker ‘26, who was our backbone all game long, made not one, but two series of stands, including a number of saves that were right on the doorstep. Defenseman Eman Brine ‘28 shut their best player down and quarterbacked the defense. Sam Kellog ‘28 won a few key faceoffs and played excellent defense. Freshman Julian Belfer ‘29 was the best defensive middie on the field, locking off his man and playing a huge role in transition. Finally we broke through with five minutes left. Montoya ‘27 gave the Rams their first lead since the first quarter, catching yet another of Captain Oliver Charvel ‘26’s FIVE assists, tiptoeing the crease to tuck one in. Will Murray ’28 followed it up with another downhill power-dodge and shot on-the-run to put us up 10-8. To their tremendous credit, and in the spirit of a competitive league game with playoff implications on the line, San Marcos answered, and with 15 seconds left scored the tying goal to send us to overtime.

Heroes are made in OT, and we had two of them. Braedo Parker ’26 was the first hero we needed. He’d held us together when we needed it most all night long, and with a minute left, he hugged the near post to make a massive save that saved the game. With under a minute left, he launched it to the other end, and in the scramble we turned it over in transition. That’s when Will Murray ‘28, our offensive hero of the day—refused to let it go. He rode the clearing midfielder, forced the turnover, got the ground ball, and with ice in his veins put it away with precision for the winner with just 24 seconds left in OT.

11-10 final. A massive swing of emotions, defined by gritty win that revealed just how much heart this team has. Great momentum as we move into the heart of the season.