The Parkland and Central Catholic boys lacrosse teams know each other well. Over the last two years, the Trojans and Vikings have played against each other six different times, including twice in the regular season and once in the postseason. They have been two of the top three or four teams every year in District 11 and their games have always been highly contested.

Last Monday night was no different.

Parkland had a lead for nearly the entire game, but found itself ahead just 9-8 with 3:40 remaining in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference championship.

With Central threatening, the Trojans hustle and desire to grab a ground ball led to a long possession in the end to hold on to the 9-8 victory and a second straight EPC championship Monday at Northampton High School’s Al Erdosy Stadium, under the lights and a consistent rain.

After the Vikings scored to cut their deficit to the 9-8 mark, they won the ensuing faceoff and looked to tie it. But consecutive shots were saved by starting goalie and All-Conference player James McLaughlin (seven saves). A few seconds later, the ball was loose near midfield, and after all of the fight from the defense to prevent the tying goal, EPC MVP James Cipolla, an attackman, came back and won the ball for his team as Parkland ran out the final two minutes for the win.

“That was definitely a big moment,” Cipolla said. “When you see a ball down, especially in games like this where you know they’re so close, you know you have to get the ball. I gave it my all and I was lucky to come up with it. I think that was kind of what sealed the deal.”

Central actually scored the game’s opening goal to go ahead 1-0, but Parkland scored four unanswered and never trailed again, holding a 6-4 advantage at halftime. The Trojan offense is dynamic, but its just part of the reason for the team’s success.

“Our defense was causing turnovers and allowing our offense to produce,” said Cipolla, who had three goals. “We were just running our sets, slowing it down, running through the progressions and looking for the home-run hits, instead of just the (quick) looks.”

Matt Geroulo and Greg Santa-Anna each had two goals, and Eli Fisher and Brett Cipolla both added one goal. Santa-Anna and Fisher contributed two assists a piece, and Alex Albertson contributed an assist.

“Coming in with this group of guys that I’ve been playing with since I was 9-10 years old, I know it meant so much to us,” Cipolla said. “I saw a bunch of guys crying. It’s just very heart-warming, honestly, to do it with this group. They’re like my best friends. We’re all family.”

Parkland clinched the No. 1 seed for the District 11 Class Class 3A tournament. The Trojans will play either Easton or Nazareth in a semifinal-round matchup next Tuesday back at Al Erdosy Stadium.