Catan brothers lead Falcons to opening season wins

The Nation Ford Falcons opened the 2016 boys lacrosse season by going 2-0 as they tore through Christ Church Episcopal 13-4 and beat Clover in overtime 11-10.

“So far, so good,” said Falcons head coach Brian Holland. “Offensively we are doing well. We started out well, but we got a lot of work to do.”

Against Christ Church, the Falcons were led by the Catan brothers, Nick and Vinny, who combined to score seven of Nation Ford’s 13 goals as they both got hat tricks in the game.

Nation Ford scored three quick goals within the first four and a half minutes of the game to take a 3-0 lead over Christ Church.

After a time out, Christ Church came back and scored its first goal some 10 seconds later. Christ Church kept the momentum in its corner and cut even further into the Falcons’ lead after scoring near the 5 minute mark in the first quarter and then tied the game 45 seconds later.

Nation Ford broke the tie with about 29 seconds left in the first quarter on Vinny Catan’s second goal of the period to put the Falcons up 4-3.

The Falcons opened the second quarter with a goal from Drew Parnell about two minutes into play to extend their lead. Nation Ford’s Nick Catan came back just 26 seconds later to get a goal of his own for the Falcons.

For much of the second quarter, both teams struggled to gain any ground after Nation Ford’s two goals. The Falcons failed to score much in the quarter despite controlling possession for most of the time and defensively, Nation Ford was content to keep the ball away from Christ Church.

Like in the first quarter, the Falcons bookended the quarter by getting a goal from Jack McCullough with 29 seconds left to take a 7-3 lead at the half.

Nation Ford opened the second half where it left off as Nick Catan secured a hat trick with his third goal of the game just 47 second into the third quarter. McCullough scored his second goal of the game two minutes later to extend the Falcons lead to six.

Nation Ford’s Billy Luther scored a goal with about 7 minutes left in the third quarter, and Nick Catan again added to his goal total 22 seconds later to push the score to 11-3, forcing Christ Church into a time out.

Christ Church started the fourth quarter off by scoring 90 seconds after the whistle. Vinny Catan came back for Nation Ford on the Falcons’ next possession and scored to give himself a hat trick. He would score again about five minutes later for his fourth goal of the game as that would end the scoring on the night for Nation Ford.

Earlier in the week, Nation Ford opened its season against Clover with a 11-10 win in overtime. Nick Catan’s seven goals in that victory. McCullough scored two goals and Vinny Catan and Jack Adkisson each had a goal in the win.

Nation Ford faces Providence Day Thursday and Greenville Saturday, both at home.

This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Catan brothers lead Falcons to opening season wins."