Coach Chris Sauter wore the look of disappointment on his face after his Watterson boys lacrosse team’s bid for a repeat Division II championship fell short in the final seconds.

The Eagles held a three-goal lead early in the fourth quarter before Rocky River rallied for a 9-8 victory on June 6 at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus.

“When you play against a very, very good team and when you make mistakes … you get punished,” Sauter said. “That’s pretty much what it was – simple. You hate to say it. It wasn’t any scheme or anything like that. They made plays at the end of the game and we threw the ball away. You can’t score if you don’t have the ball.”

Watterson outshot the first-time champion Pirates 39-17, including a 21-13 advantage on-goal and a 14-6 edge in face-offs won.

But the Eagles turned it over 14 times, including four in the final 8 minutes of the game.

And it was the face off Watterson didn’t get, won by Pirates’ freshman Steele Berry that ultimately led to the final goal.

Michael Bebie emerged from a scrum of players to find himself one-on-one with Watterson goalkeeper Kolt Rundio, who Bebie beat for the game-winner with 9 seconds left.

“It doesn’t feel real right now,” Bebie said. “I saw the ball on the ground and knew I had to get it. The game was on the line. I’m going to put my heart and my body on the line for this team. We’re all family – we would die for each other.”

David Wickham won the ensuing faceoff, but Drew Dunlap’s shot as time expired was saved by Rocky River’s Gordon Hudson.

Bebie scored four goals to lead the Pirates (19-0). Ryan Taylor added two goals and an assist and Connor Nesbett had a goal and an assist.

Hudson had 13 saves, including six in the first period alone. The Pirates led 2-1 after one and the same score held during a 3-hour, 32-minute rain delay.

Jensen Boetger’s goal at the 8:59 mark of the second period after the delay pushed the Pirates’ lead to two.

“As of late, we have been tested – gotten (our opponents) best games,” Rocky River coach Griff Vehar said. “I think that prepared us well … just being calm. It’s one goal at a time. We were able to keep our cool and get the last shot.”

But Rocky River was held off the scoreboard for a little more than 19 minutes. Dash Hoy scored two of his three goals during that stretch as the Eagles built a three-goal lead.

Dunlap and Davis Seaman each scored a goal and an assist. Wickham grabbed 10 ground balls to go with his 14 face-offs won. Joe Hayes IV had two caused turnovers and Rundio had four saves for the Eagles (18-3).

Rocky River was making its first appearance in the final since the OHSAA began sanctioning the tournament in 2017. The Pirates were runners-up in the Ohio High School Lacrosse Association tournament in 2012 and 2013.

Watterson was stopped short of a second consecutive state championship.

“We’re a close bunch (and) we’ve done this for a long time,” Sauter said. “We certainly do love each other a lot.”