Recent history does not lie when it comes to the importance of homefield advantage in the NCISAA lacrosse playoffs.
It means everything.
For Christ School, the history lesson begins in 2016.
The Greenies lost that year in the finals at Ravenscroft, only to make amends with three consecutive titles won here in front of adoring fans from 2017 to 2019.
COVID-19 meant there was no champion in 2020, but the next year Christ School had its state-championship streak snapped in the finals at Charlotte Providence Day, and the year after that, the Greenies lost at Cannon School.
So now you are caught up to speed on why this week is so big.
Christ School (9-4) hosts Cannon School (12-3) on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. and then Charlotte Providence Day (13-4) on Friday at the same time.
“It’s going to be a fun week. I don’t think there will be any problem getting motivated to play these games,” Greenies coach Patrick Haley said.
“We’ve got to understand what is at stake. They’re regular-season games, but at the end of the day, they determine where we’re going to play playoff games. And if we can win both of those games, the championship game could be at Christ School. And that’s a motivating factor to earn wins in these two games.”
Saturday’s 21-3 rout of Asheville School was the fourth consecutive win for the Greenies. Nate Wilberding ’25 scored all four of his goals in the first quarter and freshman Palo Miles ’27 matched that total in the second half. It was Senior Day for seven players: Lucas Little ’24, Turner Brooks ’24, Hardy Johnson ’24, Ben Lucas ’24, Parker Beiland ’24, Cole Boyer ’24, and Noah Fleming ’24.
Christ School has been ranked No. 4 in the state for much of the season by HighSchoolOT, while Cannon School has been second and Providence Day has been third. Tuesday’s game and Friday’s game will be live-streamed at this link.