“He probably scored the biggest goal in Raiders history; definitely this year, for sure.”
With that, Okotoks Jr. A Raiders head coach Andrew McBride summed up Cochranite Jesse Chong’s July 29 overtime goal that helped propel Raiders to the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League and provincial Jr. A lacrosse title. Raiders edged Calgary Jr. A Mountaineers 10-9 in OT to win Game 6 at Max Bell Arena and claim the best-of-7 series 4-2.
Tied 8-8 after regulation, the teams took to the floor for a 10-minute, non-sudden-death overtime.
Chong, a 6-foot, 170-pound left-handed shooter playing the transition position, scooped a loose ball on his side of centre and bolted down the floor straight at the Mounties’ goal before deftly dropping a shot under the crossbar to make it 9-8 midway through OT.
“I just picked it up, we were running down. I saw one of their guys flying off the bench so I kind of knew I wouldn’t be able to get across the crease,” Chong recalled of the snipe amid the bedlam of his team’s on-floor post-game celebration. “Just coming down the alley so I put it in short side. Just tucked it under the bar.
“Probably the biggest goal I’ve ever scored.”
Okotoks scored another before Calgary put the pressure on with a late goal, but that was it.
“It was really fun. It was back and forth,” the 18-year-old, second-year Raider said the series-deciding tilt. “It was really good to win it in overtime.”
Playing at the transition spot, Chong’s role is mostly defensive. But his speed and skill allows him to read and react to the run of play that gave him the opportunity to score his OT goal against Mounties.
“Jesse’s been such a great athlete all year,” coach McBride said of the Cochranite who won a Tier 3 provincial high school football championship with the Cochrane Cobras in November. “He’s one of those guys who comes on the floor and gives it his all. His compete level is second to none. When he’s making plays, our team is playing well. I thought Jesse got rewarded for a great season all year round.”
Along with Chong, former Rocky View Silvertips defender Bo Forsen helped Raiders win provincials this season. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound rookie was a force, muscling opponents away from the net and shutting down their shooters. A Tier 1 Jr. B Silvertip last season, and property of the Jr. A Mounties, Raiders dealt Ben Fream to Calgary for Forsen in the offseason.
“He was a guy we targeted. We made a trade for him. Bo’s a kid who has another three years left,” McBride said of the burly 17-year-old from Carstairs. “He’s going to be a leader for us on this team. He’s a big, strong guy. He really plays physically. That’s something we needed for our team, and we’re really glad to have him on board.”
The transition to Jr. A from Jr. B lacrosse was a big step up for Forsen.
“The first few weeks at training camp, I felt pretty lost. The coaching staff was so good. Any questions, they told me to come to them. Even the first few games, I felt kind of jittery,” Forsen admitted. “Not only does the ball move faster, but it’s bigger guys too.
“It worked out well,” he continued. “I could’t have been happier about this move.”
Celebration’s over. Now Raiders face B.C.-champion Coquitlam Adanacs in a best-of-5 Western Canada Jr. A lacrosse championship to determine who advances to the national-championship Minto Cup. Western Jr. A Lacrosse Regionals begin Aug. 6 at Calgary’s Max Bell Arena.
“Now we’re in it for sure,” Chong stated. “I think we can hang with B.C., definitely, this group that we have this year. It’s a really tight team and we’re peaking right now.”
