Cole Fenton entered York’s Kinsley Field holding the American flag. He looked in front of him and saw his father, smiling and on the verge of tears. Fenton had to hold it together. He had a job to do.

Fenton, wearing the No. 99 jersey, warming up before York’s matchup St. Mary’s (Md.) tried his best to downplay what was about to happen.

“Shoot. I have a game to play,” he said. “I can’t start crying now. We’re about to score a goal. We've got to be good.”

Before he knew it, he was starting at attack. York’s Billy Sasso won the faceoff, charged up the field and dished it off to teammate Hunter Davis. Davis rushed toward Fenton, who crowded around him as his teammate dropped the ball into his stick.

It was a hidden ball trick and it worked to perfection.

Fenton, a team manager who was stepping onto the lacrosse field for the first time, sprinted unguarded toward the cage and fired a shot past the St. Mary’s goalie, triggering a stampede from the York bench onto the field in celebration. 

Mission accomplished.

Time briefly stopped for Fenton as his team rushed to him.

“I kind of froze,” he said. “I was just standing there like, ‘What just happened?’”

It took a couple seconds to process, but he had just checked off the top item on his bucket list. Fenton, who has endured 26 surgeries as a result of a radial club right hand, arm and left foot, as well as a fused neck and spine, was surrounded by his family — both literally and figuratively — for one of the best moments of his life.

York won the game 17-3, but it was the untimed hidden ball trick that took the headlines. Fenton, a third-year manager who doesn’t know how to make excuses, took the lacrosse world by storm.

“It made everything worth it,” he said of the goal. “All the days of thinking I don’t even know if I’m doing this right, it solidified so much that I’m on the right path and doing things good. We were talking about it [Wednesday night] that it was a great moment for me and my team, but honestly, it just made everyone happy. That’s sick. I just like making people smile and laugh and feel good about themselves.”

Thank you to everyone who supported Cole Fenton yesterday! In case you missed it here is the video broadcast recorded by @LTRMidAtlantic You won't want to miss this. https://t.co/toE2MggFIf@LaxSportsNet @Inside_Lacrosse @USLacrosseMag @ESPNTop

— YCPMLacrosse (@YCPMLacrosse) April 12, 2018

Spartans coach Brandon Childs, who has a daughter with a disability, couldn't have been more proud of his manager, although he doesn’t like to label Fenton as such.

“He’s not our manager,” Childs said. “He just serves everybody. You can’t spend every day trying to serve other people without people falling in love with you.”

Fenton’s enthusiasm with helping out stems back to his days at Hopewell Valley High School (N.J.). As a result of his condition, he wasn’t allowed to play contact sports. So he joined on with the football team as a team manager. 

Eventually, he found his way to lacrosse, thanks to a suggestion from a close friend. Once he graduated, Fenton decided on York, and he was adamant about continuing to serve. He sent a resume along with a handful of references to Childs in the hopes that he could join the York men’s lacrosse team.

“He brought me into his office and sat down and we kind of said, ‘You know, let’s do it,’ Fenton said of Childs. “‘This will be awesome.’”

And he got started right away.

Over the past three years, Fenton has been a staple in the Spartans lacrosse program. When a stick breaks, he’s there with a player’s back-up. He helps blow the whistle for faceoff men to rotate between drills. He’ll set reminders to tell players to get to class on time. He's never forced to do anything. He simply saw needs and addressed them.

He’s developed a bond with all of his teammates. He’s become more than just a manager. The team is 49-7 since he arrived on campus.

“My team is my family,” he said. “Whether I’m going in or I’m not going in, I’m always here for my guys and they know that.”

Through one of his classes, Fenton attended a conference late in 2017. The topic centered around making a bucket list, and he was inspired right away. Before the presentation was over, he had already typed into his phone the first item on his list.

Score a goal in a lacrosse game.

The next day, he came into Childs’ office to pitch the idea. It was an easy sell.

“I said, ‘Alright, give me a day or two to figure out how we can make this happen, but I promise you this can happen,’” Childs said of the meeting.

He was a man of his word.

Childs brainstormed ideas and decided to reach out to his older brother, Jason, who heads the St. Mary’s program. He told him about Fenton and his dream, and the older Childs was all for making it happen when the schools met on Wednesday.

Fenton got the green light, and the team started brainstorming how he’d get his shot. 

“‘Hey, we need to talk,” he told the team. “‘I just had a meeting with coach.’ Everyone got all serious and said, ‘Oh no, what’s happening?’ I was like, ‘Boys, I’m playing.’ After that point, it got hype.”

At first, Childs planned to have Fenton take the faceoff and rush down to the cage. But junior attackman Hunter Davis suggested he take the field on attack and be involved in an actual play — a hidden ball trick.

Fenton and Davis practiced intermittently for months leading up to the day. Childs sent film of the play to his brother so St. Mary’s could practice the play. Fenton wanted to bring his parents as a surprise, but realized a 2.5-hour trip wasn’t worth it for any ordinary game, so he let them in on the secret.

Childs, whose experience raising a child with a disability made Fenton's story an even more emotional one, said his parents have made it possible for him to live a normal life.

“To me, the most amazing part of this story is that his parents, they never reached out to me,” he said. “They just treated him like he was any other kid trying out for any other team. It just goes to show you that his parents have done a really good job of not allowing him to think of himself as any different. It’s the most admirable thing.”

With his team ready and his parents in attendance, the big day was there for Fenton. He couldn’t focus in class on Wednesday.

“I had a lacrosse game in two hours. How was I supposed to do this?” he said to himself.

No. 99 trotted onto the field for York’s game against St. Mary’s, and he made the most of his chance. One shot, one goal. 

“That was probably the cleanest that play looked in all the time that we were practicing it,” he said of the infamous play.

Childs knew he’d sink the shot. It was a perfect storm that gave Fenton his chance.

“I hate the term he deserves this,” Childs said. “He doesn’t deserve this. He's earned it. That’s the message here. ... As much as that moment was for Cole and about Cole, all I could think about is how blessed I am to have the older brother that I have, who was just willing to use this as a teachable moment for his team.”

Another bucket list item checked off. What’s next for the ever-joyful Fenton?

“I’m pretty sure the next one is skydiving,” he said.