Liberty’s season turned with offensive push

Among the four teams remaining in the Division I boys lacrosse tournament, Olentangy Liberty ranks last (and 44th in the state), with 9.95 goals scored per game. That number is considerably higher than it was through the first two weeks of the season.

After their fifth and sixth games, 4-2 and 13-3 losses to Worthington Kilbourne and Solon on April 2 and 4, respectively, the Patriots were averaging just 5.5 goals.

Since then, Liberty (17-4) has scored at least 11 goals nine times and has won six in a row to reach the first state semifinal in school history.

“Early on, we wanted to be a defensive-minded team and try to take the air out of the ball,” Liberty coach Jason Godwin said. “(But) we knew we needed to push some things a bit more, take more chances on offense and generate better shots.”

The Patriots have nine players with at least 14 goals and 11 players with 16 or more points. Eric NeCamp has eight goals and six assists in the postseason, giving him 19 and 21 for the season, most points on the team. Nick Durtschi leads Liberty with 31 goals.

Goalie Sean Murphy is allowing 3.86 goals per game, and the defense yields a state-best 4.7 goals per game, nearly a full goal less than Cleveland St. Ignatius. But Liberty will have its hands full in a semifinal against Cincinnati St. Xavier (16-5), which averages 12.76 goals and has totaled 54 goals in three postseason games.

Three-time defending Division I champion Upper Arlington (17-5) faces St. Ignatius (17-2) in the other semifinal. Although the Golden Bears haven’t played the Wildcats since 2006, coach Ted Wolford believes his team can adjust on the fly, as it has all season. UA played seven out-of-state opponents.

He said the Golden Bears are “understanding what they’re seeing, how they want to attack different offense and defensive schemes and showing how comfortable they are with each other at this point.”

A win over St. Ignatius would secure a spot in the final against either Liberty or St. Xavier, the only two Ohio teams to beat UA this season.

“If we get through this game, we’ll get an opponent we have seen before and we’ll know what their abilities are,” Wolford said. “We’re looking forward to getting a little payback on somebody.”