Late goal pushes Bay Port past Appleton United in boys lacrosse opener

By Dustin Riese
For AppletonSportsPage.com

SUAMICO – April 5, 2024, will forever go down as an important day in Appleton high school sports as the Appleton United marked the beginning of WIAA-affiliated lacrosse for the team.

This was seen to be a measuring stick for both Appleton and host Bay Port as they entered the game as potentially two of the best teams in the state. Throughout the 48 minutes, both teams laid it on the line and gave the fans everything they could ask for and more as the Pirates opened up a 5-1 lead only to see Appleton United mount a massive second-half comeback to pull even at 7-7. That was until Liam Jankowski was left open in the middle as his late-game goal lifted the Pirates to the 8-7 victory Friday night at Bay Port High School.

“We looked like we hadn’t played 6-on-6 in weeks,” Appleton head coach Danny Rafalski said. “That was unfortunately true for us coming into this game due to the recent weather. We were very disoriented and didn’t play our game, or any game for that matter, until after halftime.”

This was a tale of two halves for Appleton as it came out a bit slower than it would have liked in the opening quarter. Bay Port used that to its advantage as Finn Gustafson and Cameron Hovden scored a pair of goals less than three minutes apart to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead midway through the first. That score would hold until the early stages of the second quarter when Tyler Gabrielse added to an already good night with his first goal of the game and put Appleton in a 3-0 hole.

It was only a matter of time until Appleton United started to settle in and less than a minute after falling behind by three, it was Ryder Hill cashing in for the goal to make it 3-1. Hill will forever remember that goal as that will go down as the first goal in Appleton United history in terms of an affiliated sport. Bay Port tacked on another goal a few minutes later as the Pirates took a 4-1 lead into the half.

Despite being dominated most of the first half, it was Appleton that came out as the aggressor to begin the second half as it began to control the tempo. That led to Appleton getting several good looks on net only to come away empty handed with Dominic Fry making a plethora of strong saves. That series of saves resulted in a counter attack for the Pirates and one which Gustafson buried to make things 5-1.

Down, but not out, Appleton refused to go down without a fight and as the midway point in the third quarter passed, it was United quickly taking the momentum. Tristan Dean and Jaylen Kempfer found the back of the net to pull Appleton to within 5-3 entering the fourth. Like in the third when Bay Port came out with a quick strike goal, Gabrielse buried another goal past Tyler Bishop to put the Pirates back in front 6-3.

That is when Appleton United and Hill took over as he put the team on his back when they needed him the most. Following a goal by Jon Parry to cut the deficit to 6-4, Hill showed terrific composure as he fell down on the attacking third of the field, got up and rifled one past Fry to make it 6-5. He then responded less than 30 seconds later and spun himself free in the attacking third for his third goal to bring it back to even 6-6.

Rafalski on Hill stepping up when they needed him the most: “Ryder decided to put the offense on his back,” he said. “From a coaching standpoint, I’m not a fan of his hero ball. However, I’m Incredibly proud of that young man regardless. He showed incredible guts, heart and put his individual skill set on full display. That is our guy.”

Talk about a flare for the dramatic, that series of events seemed to awaken both offenses as the United was on the attack again only to have Fry come away with a huge save on Landon Larson to keep things tied. The result of that was a quick attack for the Pirates the other way with Jett Ebert going behind the net to put Pirates up 7-6 and less than four minutes to.

Needing offense in a hurry, Appleton continued to find Hill on the attacking third and he continued to deliver as he knocked home his fourth goal and third of the second half to tie it up yet again as the action continued to intensify. Looking to grab its first lead of the night, Appleton got it to the attacking third once again only to be called for a delayed penalty.

With the action resuming until Appleton gained possession, Bay Port began its counter attack as the United was caught on its heels. What looked to be a harmless pass over the middle that was well defended, resulted in a game-winning goal as Jankowski took a shot to the face and still managed to squeak one past Bishop to close out the 8-7 victory.

Appleton won the JV contest 13-0.

Appleton jumps right back into action Saturday with a game at Kettle Moraine. JV starts at 3 p.m. with varsity to follow at 5:30 p.m.

Pirates 8, United 4
Appleton   0   1   2   4   –   7
Bay Port   2   2   1   3   –   8
Goals: A, Ryder Hill 4, Tristan Dean, Jaylen Kempfer, Jon Parry. BP, Finn Gustafson, Cameron Hovden 2, Tyler Gabrielse 3, Jett Ebert, Liam Jankowski.
Records: Appleton 0-1; Bay Port 1-0.