ORANGEVILLE -- If the Whitby Warriors hope to conquer the OLA Junior A loop this summer, the Orangeville Northmen are one of the clubs they'll have to dispose of along the way. And if their recent tilt on Friday serves as any indication, the two talented teams will be fighting neck-and-neck right to the end.
The Warriors needed a short-handed goal from Kyle O'Brien with just 1:19 remaining in regulation to salvage an 8-8 overtime tie in Orangeville.
Soon after the opening draw, the outlook appeared bleak for the Warriors. However, as is often the case in lacrosse, falling behind early isn't nearly as troublesome as it could be in other sports.
After Orangeville jumped out to a 2-0 lead, Whitby didn't take long to draw even as Phil McIlhone and Nick Cotter scored a pair of goals just over two minutes apart. It was a scenario that would play itself out a few more times throughout the game.
Down 3-2 at the end of one, Steve Hutchins scored back-to-back markers to give Whitby its first lead of the night.
Orangeville came storming back with two of their own, to again take the lead.
The teams then traded goals the rest of the way, with Marc Jackson, Matt Savoie and O'Brien, with two, scoring for the Warriors.
There was no scoring by either team in the 10-minute overtime.
Joel Weber went the distance in net, adding a pair of assists, including the lone helper on O'Brien's game-tying marker.