By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

Daniel Cohen had done just about everything he could. Gimping around the field after absorbing countless slashes, Cohen scored the eventual game-winning goal with more than five minutes remaining.

Now it was going to be up to the Walter Johnson defense to do the rest.

The Wildcats held on, coming from two goals behind, surviving a last-minute shot off the post and last-second heave to beat Quince Orchard 6-5 Wednesday evening in Gaithersburg.

Walter Johnson (6-2) has now won four games in a row, including Friday night’s thriller over Churchill.

“A good team’s got to be able to win the great games and they also have to win the tough ones like that one,” Cohen said of Wednesday's game. “We snuck out with one. Our defense is the real hero tonight.”

Quince Orchard (5-2) took over possession trailing by a goal with two minutes and seven seconds left in the fourth quarter after Stuart Nystrom made a nice poke check on Cohen.

Walter Johnson’s defense, however, had held the Cougars scoreless for nearly 19 minutes starting with the first goal of the third quarter that gave Quince Orchard a 5-3 lead.

And the Wildcats bore down again, causing one turnover, surviving a shot by Cody Schecter off the post and getting a big save from goalie Jon Silberman.

“It was a lot of close calls,” Walter Johnson senior defensive captain Charlie Hartley said. “You’ve just got to bite the bullet and play hard to shut them out.”

While Cohen gave the credit to the defense he certainly deserves a great deal himself. Despite being face-guarded the entire game and drawing early slides whenever he touched the ball, Cohen still notched two goals and two assists.

He scored the game-winner in a split instant, taking the ball from behind the net on a restart straight in front of the cage and whipping it around a couple of defenders trying to push him away. The ball somehow found the goal and trickled in.

“Whenever I got the ball I was taking it to the cage,” Cohen said.

For Cohen, it was at last relief at the end of a very frustrating game. Cohen constantly berated his teammates on the field for their lack of hustle or bad decisions. He once slammed his stick into the ground and another time whacked the bench.

“It was a frustrating first half,” Cohen said. “We felt like we got off to a bad start.”

Walter Johnson actually went up 2-0 on a Cohen goal and then assist to Colin Dabney, who finished with three goals. But Quince Orchard stormed back with three straight goals – two by junior midfielder Chris Hower -- and then another by Hower with no time left on the clock to end the first half.

The Wildcats still trailed by two goals late in the third quarter until Dabney found net on a feed from midfielder JP Brennan and then Brennan scored on a long pass from Hartley in transition.

For Quince Orchard, it’s a second gut-wrenching loss this season. The Cougars’ only other loss came in their season opener in overtime against Bethesda-Chevy Chase. Quince Orchard had felt it won that game only to have a goal called off by the referees.

“I can’t be upset with the kids,” Coach Mike Kowalick said. “I’d love to see them again. I feel like we gave this one away. I feel that we outplayed them.”