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Little Miami High's run at a state berth in lacrosse came up short on Saturday, May 31, when the Dayton Lacrosse Club eliminated the Panthers, 18-12.

Playing without all-region midfielder James Erwin, who injured a knee in practice the day before the game, the Panthers' short-handed rotation didn't have enough gas to keep up with the high-scoring pace set by Dayton.

"We hung with them as long as we could," Little Miami coach Matt Leedy said. "We just ran out of gas in the second half."

Christian Albertson led the Panthers with four goals and an assist while Cory Donnini and Vos Taylor added three goals apiece for the Panthers.

Little Miami also got solid play from goalie Caleb Wilkerson, who made 27 saves in the net.

The loss ended the Panthers' season at 14-5 and marked the end of the beginning for Little Miami lacrosse.

The Panthers graduate 14 seniors, seven of which — Taylor, Wilkerson, Ryan Shearer, Andrew Stumpf, Nick Volkman, Mike Clark and Justin Oeder — have been with the program since its inception four years ago.

"Those players lived through the growing pains of a brand new program and saw it grow to the point where we became the No. 1 seed in the region, posted the best record in the region and had seven players represented on the all-region team," Leedy said.

"We're sorry to see them go, but they planted a good seed for the future of lacrosse at Little Miami."

Leedy said the Panthers still return solid talent for next season, including top scorer Albertson, Donnini, midfielders Alex Oeder and Justin Wiseman and defender Mike Steward.

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