In title rematch, Cardinal Gibbons defeats Lake Norman for 7A boys lacrosse championship

HICKORY, N.C. — Cardinal Gibbons successfully defended its state championship Saturday, defeating Lake Norman 10-7 in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 7A boys lacrosse title game at Moretz Stadium.

The victory came in a rematch of last year's state championship game, which was also won by the Crusaders.

After Lake Norman erased a three-goal deficit and tied the game at halftime, Cardinal Gibbons responded by allowing just one goal in the second half to secure another state title.

• View Photos: Cardinal Gibbons vs. Lake Norman (May 30, 2026). HSOT Insiders can download championship photos for free. Here's how.

Cardinal Gibbons struck first when Treyton McMahon scored with 9:38 remaining in the opening quarter. Lake Norman answered with goals from Eljay Shellenburg and Kayden Robles to take a 2-1 lead before the Crusaders responded with three consecutive goals from Robbie Jonske, Jared Hart and Aidan Wilson to lead 4-2 after one quarter.

The Crusaders extended their lead in the second quarter behind goals from Peter Dolan and Luke Conly to make it 6-3. Lake Norman answered with three straight goals of its own. Connor Mumford scored on a man-up opportunity, Shellenburg added another extra-man goal, and Robles scored just before halftime to tie the game at 6-6.

The Wildcats continued to win faceoffs throughout much of the third quarter, but Cardinal Gibbons' defense repeatedly turned them away. Dolan broke the tie with 5:13 remaining in the quarter, and the Crusaders held Lake Norman scoreless in the period.

Late in the third, Lake Norman goalkeepe Ryan Tolbert made two impressive saves to keep the Wildcats within striking distance. However, Cardinal Gibbons eventually broke through when Luke Conly found Hart for a goal with 1:08 remaining, extending the lead to 9-6 entering the fourth quarter.

After halftime, Cardinal Gibbons focused on tightening its defensive communication and execution.

"We talked about our communication, how to slide and how to recover," Cardinal Gibbons head coach Gordon Galloway said. "On the back half of the season, our defense has been playing outstanding, and we really leaned into our gameplan in that second half."

Start times revealed for NCHSAA baseball, softball, lacrosse, & girls soccer state championships

Lake Norman finally ended its scoring drought when Ethan Cominsky scored with 10:07 remaining to cut the deficit to 9-7.

That would be as close as the Wildcats would get.

Dolan answered with his second goal of the game with 7:30 remaining, restoring a three-goal advantage and helping seal the championship for the Crusaders.

Dolan finished with two goals and three assists, contributing to half of Cardinal Gibbons' scoring output and earning championship game MVP honors.

"He has been outstanding," Galloway said. "If you watch the film, he is a selfless player and he is a very skilled lacrosse player."The championship capped a remarkable turnaround for Cardinal Gibbons, which used adversity earlier in the season as motivation.

"We had a reset in our season after the loss to Topsail and Lake Norman," Galloway said. "Not only were we fortunate enough to live out this journey, we were fortunate enough to get some revenge as well for some losses we took earlier in the season. We learned a lot of lessons along the way. Lake Norman is an outstanding team and program as well, and the game could have went either way all day long, but we knew what we had as well as on our bench and I couldn't be more proud."

For Dolan, the championship was validation for a team that entered the season facing questions after graduating key contributors from last year's title team.

"This is a brotherhood," Dolan said. "We are all together. We lost a lot of people last year and had a lot of doubt, but we all believed in ourselves and it led to a championship."

Lake Norman once again proved it belongs among the state's elite programs. The Wildcats erased a three-goal deficit before halftime and continued to battle throughout the afternoon.

"I couldn't be prouder of this group of guys," Lake Norman head coach James Brugger said. "We are the best public 7A school. These guys never gave up and right before halftime we were executing well, so I'm just extremely proud of the effort that they gave not only today but for the entire season."

Senior Eljay Shellenburg said the team's perseverance is what he hopes people remember most.

"I want everyone to remember that last year we graduated a bunch of really good players from last year's tem," Shellenburg said. "Nobody believed that we could make it this far and that we would still be playing this late in the season, so the fight that we showed throughout this season is something that I hope people remember."

Before the game, each school honored its N.C. High School Athletic Association sportsmanship award winner for the season. Lake Norman recognized Mac Miller, while Cardinal Gibbons honored Cody Cartwright.

Box Score

• 1st Quarter
  • 9:53 - CG goal by Treyton McMahon - CG 1, LKN 0
  • 8:33 - LKN goal by Eljay Shellenberg - Tied 1-1
  • 8:04 - LKN goal by Kayden Robles - LKN 2, CG 1
  • 6:34 - CG goal by Robbie Jonske - Tied 2-2
  • 4:41 - CG goal by Jared Hart (assist: Peter Dolan) - CG 3, LKN 2
  • 2:35 - CG goal by Aidan Wilson - CG 4, LKN 2
• 2nd Quarter
  • 10:21 - CG goal by Luke Conly (assist: Peter Dolan) - CG 5, LKN 2
  • 7:09 - LKN goal by Lincoln Nye (assist: Ethan Cominsky) - CG 5, LKN 3
  • 6:45 - CG goal by Luke Conly - CG 6, LKN 3
  • 3:51 - LKN power-play goal by Connor Mumford - CG 6, LKN 4
  • 3:02 - LKN power-play goal by Eljay Shellenberg (assist: Lincoln Nye) - CG 6, LKN 5
  • 0:22 - LKN goal by Kayden Robles (assist: Eljay Shellenberg) - Tied 6-6
• 3rd Quarter
  • 7:49 - CG goal by Peter Dolan - CG 7, LKN 6
  • 5:37 - CG power-play goal by Luke Conly (assist: Peter Dolan) - CG 8, LKN 6
  • 1:11 - CG goal by Jared Hart (assist: Luke Conly) - CG 9, LKN 6
• 4th Quarter
  • 10:35 - LKN goal by Ethan Cominsky (assist: Lincoln Nye) - CG 9, LKN 7
  • 7:30 - CG goal by Peter Dolan - CG 10, LKN 7
• Goal Scorers
  • Cardinal Gibbons (10)
    • Luke Conly: 3 goals
    • Peter Dolan: 2 goals
    • Jared Hart: 2 goals
    • Treyton McMahon: 1 goal
    • Robbie Jonske: 1 goal
    • Aidan Wilson: 1 goal
  • Lake Norman (7)
    • Kayden Robles: 2 goals
    • Eljay Shellenberg: 2 goals
    • Lincoln Nye: 1 goal
    • Connor Mumford: 1 goal
    • Ethan Cominsky: 1 goal

Want to get your high school sports news faster? Download the new and improved HighSchoolOT app! You'll be able to find the content you want faster and have access to breaking news alerts.

Download the all-new HighSchoolOT App today