By ALEX SPONSELLER

The top-seeded Pilgrim boys lacrosse team fell to Prout 13-8 in the Division II championship game on Saturday at Brown University.

The Pats boasted perhaps the division’s best offense this spring, but Prout goalie Theodore Leblanc was sharp from start to finish, holding Pilgrim to eight goals which tied its season low.

“Obviously, we only scored eight goals. We have a high-powered offense, but the kid played great today. He’s played great all year, and we just couldn’t solve him,” said Pilgrim coach Alex Gregson.

Pilgrim trailed 6-5 at halftime and 10-7 heading into the fourth quarter. The Crusaders exploded in the final five minutes as they put away three goals to run away with the win.

Braxton Bragg, Ryan Barlow and Carter Clifton all registered two goals in the loss while Tyler Fuller and Brett Taylor also found the back of the net.

The teams met twice in the regular season and split the series. Prout took home a four-overtime win in the first meeting when the Pats were without Bragg. Pilgrim got the better of the later matchup in a lopsided decision.

Pilgrim projects as an early favorite for next year with all but three starters set to return. Gregson hopes that the loss will help the team develop more discipline moving forward.

“I hope they know that this is just a lacrosse game. We kind of lost our minds there. We didn’t stick to the game plan, we tried doing too much. It wasn’t our team out there, I couldn’t even recognize them the whole game. They just got out there and they did their own thing and you can’t do that,” Gregson said.

Graduating will be Pilgrim’s all-time scorer in Bragg, as well as Barlow and John Maguire. Gregson will be sad to see them go and appreciated the impact they made in guiding the program to four straight title games, winning one in 2022.

“They’re all amazing and were key pieces to our run. They have all been starters since their freshmen year, they’ve all been contributors and are the reason why we have made it to the championship the last four years. They’re going to be missed,” Gregson said.