It was an almost perfect weekend for Apex High School’s lacrosse programs.

The 2010 Rivalry Weekend and Alumni Reunion was held in beautiful weather in front of a big crowd and showcased some of the best talent that North Carolina has to offer.

There was, however, just one minor glitch – the final score.

Cardinal Gibbons rolled to a 7-1 victory over Apex on Saturday evening, marking the first setback in five games for the Cougars.

“It was a great time,” said Apex coach John Hayden. “We had a very big crowd, a lot of alumni showed up with their parents, and the girls won their game. We honored the 2005 state championship team and had a big tailgate party. It was a lot of fun. Everything almost went perfect except we lost the game.”

The Lady Cougars shook off a slow start en route to a 22-8 win over Cardinal Gibbons in the first contest of the doubleheader.

Holding just an 8-7 lead at halftime, Apex (5-0) outscored the visitors 14-1 in the second half. But such performances have come to be expected from the Lady Cougars as they strive for their fourth straight state title under first year coach Jennifer Flaherty.

“They are really good,” said Hayden. “They just dominate people.”

The Apex boys’ team was also once a dominating force. When the program first began 10 years ago the Cougars were leaps and bounds ahead of most other local schools. The program even won a state championship in 2005.

But in recent years the talent level in the Triangle has increased exponentially and has sliced into Apex’s dominance. The Cougars remain among the state’s top programs but face tougher competition every year. Although Hayden loves to win he is thrilled to see lacrosse gain such popularity in the region.

“This is our ninth year of varsity competition and those first few years we could just roll over most people,” said Hayden. “It’s nowhere near that way now. You have good teams, like Cardinal Gibbons, all over the place. I love it and I think that’s the way it should be. It shows the game is progressing and growing. We have to push a little harder now to win.”

Despite the loss, Hayden was encouraged by the way his team performed.

“We are a young team, not very deep, and we are missing our top offensive player (Ross Whitehead) to injury,” said Hayden. “We have one of the best goaltenders in the state and held a very good team to just seven goals. Once (Whitehead) returns and we can generate some more offense I think we are going to be pretty good.”

A day when Apex’s lacrosse teams aren’t “pretty good” seems hard to imagine.