Heitmann Headlines in St. Xavier’s Win over Spire Academy (Ohio)
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Spire Academy (Ohio) made the nearly six-hour drive south to Louisville, Kentucky, to face Bluegrass powerhouse St. Xavier, with the home Tigers besting the Tigers from the north, 11-10. It was a come-from-behind victory for St. Xavier, which overcame a…
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Continue ReadingSpire Academy (Ohio) made the nearly six-hour drive south to Louisville, Kentucky, to face Bluegrass powerhouse St. Xavier, with the home Tigers besting the Tigers from the north, 11-10.
It was a come-from-behind victory for St. Xavier, which overcame a three-goal 9-6 deficit late in the third quarter. A Davis Powers score with just three seconds remaining in the third frame gave the Tigers life and sparked what would become a 5-1 St. Xavier run to end the game and come out with the victory.
Here is a look at some of leaders for the Tigers in the win, as rosters for Spire Academy were not available.
Heitmann was the best player on the field for the Tigers on Wednesday night. The senior midfielder had the hot hand for the Tigers as he netted a hat trick and also three helpers to notch a total of six points on the day. Throwing a subtle hitch and getting to the middle, his first score of the day came with plenty of time and room from 12 yards above the cage, got him heated up, and tied things at 2-2 early in the first. His final score of the day was his most impactful. Kaiden Sullivan gave the ball back to a cutting Heitmann on the right wing for what would become the game-winner to put St. Xavier up 11-9 with 6:08 left. Heitmann was involved in six of the Tigers’ 11 goals in the win.
Highlights
The sophomore was quiet for most of the game but started to hit his stride when the Tigers needed it the most. Sullivan ended the contest with five points off three assists and one goal. A quarterback attackman, all three of Sullivan’s assists came during St. Xavier’s late game-winning run, both the start and the end. He found David Powers for a score with just seconds left in the third quarter and then would find Connor Marks Connor Marks null | M St. Xavier | 2026 KY for a righty rip from 10 yards out with 2:26 in the contest to make it 11-9. He also assisted the go-ahead goal to Heitmann in a similar fashion. His lone goal started the fourth quarter action.
St. Xavier played Wednesday’s contest without Towson-bound star defenseman Ryder John in the lineup. Pinkston helped step up in John’s absence, serving as one of the leaders on the back end for the Tigers. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound defenseman also plays football and has box lacrosse experience. In his performance on Wednesday, Pinkston continued to show a lot of the good traits he has all season. He knows how to use his body and physicality, and also knows when and how to throw checks, demonstrating the ability to put the ball on the ground. He aided the Tigers in the ground ball game, especially late in the game, as he was a big part of multiple late stops that helped stifle any comeback effort Spire may have had left.
Highlights
Having recently returned after missing a few games to injury, Dobson was all over the field in the Tigers’ Wednesday night win. A dual-sport athlete who also plays defensive back in football, Dobson moves and runs the field well. With that, he is an impact player both on the defensive end of the field as well as in transition offense. He helped to jump-start things in that real for the Tigers’ on Wednesday. In addition to his usual exploits on the back end on Wednesday, Dobson saw time at the faceoff dot to help put a stop to St. Xavier’s woes in that facet of the game. Dobson was able to come in and be a disruptor, helping to give the Tigers better chances at the dot especially so in the fourth quarter.