Mt. Lebanon scores in final minute to rally past Shady Side Academy for WPIAL 3A boys lacrosse title

By: Matthew Purucker
Friday, May 23, 2025 | 12:06 AM

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Scoring a game-winning goal is something that many young athletes dream of doing but few achieve — fewer still in a championship game.

Junior Mt. Lebanon attacker Max Prezioso can forever say he accomplished that feat, as with 34 seconds left, he buried the game-winning goal to give the Blue Devils a 12-11 victory over Shady Side Academy in the Class 3A boys lacrosse championship game Thursday at Upper St. Clair. It was Mt. Lebanon’s seventh WPIAL title.

“It’s just a lot of pride that I can just steward this program for as long as I’m here,” Mt. Lebanon coach Mike Ermer said. “It’s a feather in the cap for the program. It’s not about me.”

Mt. Lebanon may consider itself fortunate to have had the chance to win the game via Prezioso’s heroics. After all, the Blue Devils trailed Shady Side Academy for much of the match. In fact, they had not led since midfielder Keegan Green scored to make it 5-4 with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter.

Also, Shady Side Academy stepped up defensively. Following that goal, the Bulldogs only allowed two more during the next 30 minutes or so of game time, and those two came with 34 and 8 seconds left in the first half. Perhaps Mt. Lebanon has a flair for the dramatic.

“We were all good. We just said, ‘Stick to our game plan.’ You know, we practiced all year long,” Prezioso said. “The stage was not too big for us, and we just stuck to the plan and got it.”

For Shady Side Academy, it was a disappointing result, especially considering the 10-7 lead the Bulldogs developed after shutting out Mt. Lebanon in the third quarter. It was one they let slip away.

“I just think they’d won faceoffs all game. They had won the ground ball battle and had a lot of possessions,” Shady Side Academy coach Cam Thompson said. “We played a lot of defense. They had some really good opportunities just off the ground in front of our goal.”

Despite their offensive struggles, the Blue Devils kept their composure. Prezioso and company were able to adjust and rally behind each other in the fourth quarter, when they scored five of the game’s last six goals, two of which Prezioso delivered.

“They were just doing a great job of not giving us any space, and we didn’t handle it particularly well. So we had a couple of bad turnovers. And if you give an offense like that extra possessions, you’re going to have a tough go,” Ermer said. “And luckily, we were able to weather that through the third. … We just had the guys take a deep breath. I thought we were playing a little tight, so I just reminded them I think it’s the best game on the earth, and it’s meant to be played fun.”

Late in the fourth quarter, Mt. Lebanon netted two goals to even the game. Then, with just over a minute left in the game, the Blue Devils got the possession they needed to draw up the game-winning play.

“I like to hold on to timeouts, just in case we need them. Sam McAuley came up with a big ground ball in traffic, got the timeout call, fortunately, and in our huddle, our offensive coordinator, Chris Hooton, he just kept it simple,” Ermer said. “And so he said, ‘Hey guys, we’re not going to do any bells and whistles. We’re going to keep it real simple.’ Just ran a simple kind of middle school play, to be honest with you, and sometimes, simple is the best way to do it.”

With the ball in his stick, Prezioso took advantage of the situation, felt no pressure and capitalized to send the Blue Devils home as winners of a WPIAL championship thriller.

“We came out, ran the play we practiced all year long and executed perfectly,” Prezioso said. “And we got the goal, so it’s all that matters.”

Tags: Mt. lebanon, Shady Side Academy