PITTSBORO — Historic lacrosse seasons came to an end at Seaforth on May 20.
In a North Carolina High School Athletic Association 1A/2A/3A playoff double header, the Hawks’ boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams fell in their second post season bouts.
After a second-quarter takeover by No. 6 Orange, Seaforth’s boys, the No. 3 seed, fell to its Central/Mid-Carolina conference rival 10-8 in the third round.
Orange sophomore Owen Wimsatt led the Panthers with four goals.
Seaforth got off to a hot start, taking a 4-1 lead in the first quarter. After senior Cameron Exley notched his first score early in the quarter, the Hawks scored three goals in a span of two minutes near the end of the period.
Things took a sharp turn in the second quarter, though.
Less than a minute into the period, a goal from Orange junior Matthews Macneir started a 5-0 run in which the Panthers controlled much of the possession. The Panthers tied the game three minutes into the second quarter with Wimsatt’s first score, and an assist from junior Brett Clark to senior Gray Crabtree gave them their first lead of the game.
Orange never trailed for the rest of the night.
“A little more tough on ground balls and a few other things,” Seaforth coach Joe Hubbard said. “That’s what the scoreboard reflected.”
After trailing 6-4 at the half, Seaforth remained in range of a comeback, but the Hawks couldn’t get a goal to land.
Orange grew its lead to four halfway through the fourth and held its advantage despite a late two-goal surge from Seaforth in the final five minutes.
Seaforth ended its season with an 18-4 record, achieving a program-best in overall wins and conference wins with 15 (finished as co-conference champions with Orange). Prior to the third-round loss, the Hawks went on an eight-game win streak which was its longest in program history.
“Everyone is proud of them,” Hubbard said. “One game doesn’t define them.”
The Hawks will graduate seven seniors, some who started the program four years ago, including midfielder Layne Armstrong, midfielder Edwin Ledbetter, defender Anson Shoaf, attack Connor Yalch, midfielder Jackson Powell, attack Cameron Exley and defender Ethan Kuball.
Along with rising senior and one of this season’s leading scorers Ivan Grimes, Seaforth will return some talented young players who impacted winning this spring, including, but not limited to, rising junior attack Oscar Ditter, rising sophomore goalkeeper Finn Prospero and rising sophomore midfielder Tyler Watkins.
“Very excited not only for them, but for the guys that are coming in,” Hubbard said. “We’ve had some camps and some clinics here in our community with the youth leagues, and we’ve seen them, and we know what we’re going to start coaching them on.”
Said Hubbard, “We’ll be back. You better believe it. We’ll be back.”
On the girls’ side of the 1A/2A/3A East playoffs, No. 4 Seaforth fell short of a third-round berth in a 7-6 loss to No. 5 Swansboro.
The Hawks had no answer for Swansboro’s sophomore midfielder Addison King who notched a team-high four goals.
Up 3-2 late in the second quarter, King started the Pirates’ game-turning run with a score right before halftime. She scored two straight goals to start the third period, giving the Pirates a commanding 6-2 lead six minutes into the second half.
Out of a timeout, Seaforth found its footing with two straight scores from junior midfielder Renee Rizvi and junior midfielder Mia Moore, who created space with a juke move before launching the shot.
However, King halted the momentum with her final score late in the third quarter to put Swansboro back ahead by three.
The Hawks continued to fight in the fourth quarter. After penalty by Swansboro near its own goal, Seaforth’s sophomore midfielder Natalie Boecke scored her second goal of the night.
With four minutes left to play, another Rizvi score brought the Hawks within one, but they couldn’t find the back of the net again.
Seaforth ended the season with a program-best 10-7 overall record, including a program-best 8-4 conference record. For the first time, Seaforth finished the highest amongst the 1A/2A/3A teams in the DC 6/Northern Lakes Athletic/Central/Mid-Carolina conference, coming in at third overall behind two 4A teams. The Hawks will only graduate two seniors, defender Claire McClintock and defender Ellie Johnson, and look to reload with a highly experienced roster in 2026.
