MaxLaxLA determined Harvard-Westlake’s lacrosse matchup with Agoura, matching the third and 12th ranked teams in the MaxLaxLA coaches’ poll, to be the premier “Game to Watch” on Friday night in the Los Angeles county.

Thanks to Joe Woody ’15, the Wolverines ended up on the better side of the thrilling matchup.

The Kenyon University-commit scored two goals, including a game-winning shot with only 12 seconds to go in overtime, allowing the Wolverines to escape an early-season scare at Agoura (0-1 overall, 0-0 in Marmonte League) by a score of 8-7.

While the Harvard-Westlake offense was phenomenal in Wednesday’s win over Culver City — the squad’s 22 goals were its most in nearly four years — defense was the story early on in Friday’s matchup. The game was scoreless for four minutes before Roman Holthouse ’15 converted, and the Wolverines were only up 3-2 at the half.

Princeton commit Phillip Thompson ’16 (two goals) and Woody each scored in the second half, as the Wolverines held a 5-3 lead after three quarters, but clutch scoring from Agoura evened the game at seven apiece in the last minute of regulation.

Fortunately for Harvard-Westlake, this was all merely a set-up for Woody’s heroics. The midfielder came though with a spinning goal immediately after a timeout on the last possession of the game, clinching the non-league victory for the Wolverines.

Harvard-Westlake (2-0 overall, 0-0 in Mission League) will have an even stiffer test the next time around, as the Wolverines will begin league play next week against chief rival Loyola (3-0 overall, 0-0 in league). Although the Wolverines swept the Cubs last season, Loyola is currently ranked second in the MaxLaxLA coaches’ poll, as this battle of unbeaten teams will not only match up long-time rivals but also two of the premier squads in the entire Los Angeles county. The game will be at Ted Slavin Field on Mar. 10, at 5 p.m.

The MaxLaxLA recap of Fridays’s game can be seen here:

http://www.maxlaxla.com/woodys-ot-goal-lifts-wolverines-past-agoura-8-7/