Towson University-bound junior, Joe Seider bagged 5 goals, all in the 2nd quarter, and sophomore attackman, Jason Ashwood added 4 goals and an assist, as the Hereford Bulls (19-1) defeated the Glenelg Gladiators (17-3) to capture their record-breaking 5th straight state championship.

Hereford came into the finals on a 19 game winning streak, after dropping its season opener to MIAA power Gilman, 10-3. Not the way the Bulls wanted to start the season, but head coach Brian King said he thought the loss motivated his guys to improve.

“We lost that first game of the year and we don’t lose a lot of games, so I think it motivated the team.” “We like playing a tough schedule and we want to continue to do so,” King said. “That first loss was probably the best thing that could have happened to us.”

Hereford had convincing wins over perennial Baltimore County foes Dulaney, Towson and even St. Paul’s.

Nick Wynne finished with 5 points on the day despite a strong pressure defense from Hereford.

Glenelg carried a heavy rep into the finals as well. The Gladiators road into Catonsville with 17 wins of their own.  A 10 goal blow-out of Mt Hebron, and a 7 goal win over Howard, were just a few of the highlights from their 2012 campaign.

Glenelg (the defending 2A/1A State Champs from 2011 before being reclassified 3A/2A for 2012) had to avenge an early season loss to Kent Island to make the finals. They defeated the Buccaneers (16-3) by a score of 11-8, back on May 19th to advance.

Oh, and please don’t ask me to explain what defines 4A, 3A and 2A schools. That secret is kept in a vault at the National Archives along with wreckage from Area 51, Jimmy Hoffa and clear footage of the Birmingham Leprechaun.

Joe Seider (26) gave Glenelg fits in the first half, scoring 5 goals in the 2nd quarter

The first half couldn’t have started any worse for Glenelg. In fact, I’m sure Gladiator head coach Josh Hatmaker thought he was having a bad dream and couldn’t wake up. Hereford raced out of the gates and quickly went to work on the Glenelg defense. Everything seemed to click as everyone on Hereford’s team, even the trainers, were finding Hereford Junior Attackman, Joe Seider open inside. Seider couldn’t miss once he was found, netting 5 goals over an 8:00 span, to blow open a 7 goal  lead for the Bulls.

Morgan Pritchett (Stevenson), Jack Adams and fogo-middie, Teddy Demiris (Navy,) scored for Hereford as well, while Glenelg struggled to clear and get set up on offense. The Bulls enjoyed a 3-0 lead before Glenelg took its first shot on goal.

Coach Hatmaker couldn’t pinpoint one particular thing that caused the first half collapse for Glenelg. He pointed to everything. “We were letting them get to seams, they were losing us off-ball, we were forcing ourselves into double teams,” Hatmaker said. “This is the type of stuff we don’t normally do and once it started, it was a snowball effect that kept rolling and rolling, and the next thing ya’ know, we’re pressing already.”

Hereford enjoyed a comfortable 8-1 lead at the half.

Mark Darden got his hands free often. He finished with 2 goals

I asked Hereford assistant coach Andy Gordon what he thought about his team’s 7 goal lead at halftime. Gordon recalled that a similar situation had taken place the day before during the 4A/3A finals. “South River was down by 7 goals last night and came back to win, so I’m not saying anything at this point, except we are playing well. This game is far from over. We’ve got a ways to go,” Gordon said.

Gordon turned out to be more prophetic then he would have liked.

Glenelg went out to their team bus at halftime and brought there “A” game back to the field.

With a dominating performance from face-off man Anthony Pagnoto (16 of 25) and a hot goalkeeper in Marshall Landry (11 saves), Glenelg was able to breathe new life into their game.

Mark Darden (2 goals) got things going for Glenelg in the third quarter with an unassisted goal at the 7:00 mark. Nick Wynne (3g, 2a) and Mike Wynne (2g) would add goals as well before Nick Wynne would bag his 3rd goal of the day with just :02 remaining in the quarter.

Just like that, the 7 goal lead was trimmed to 4.

Darden would continue his hot shooting for Glenelg, bagging another goal off a right-handed dodge from up-top. Glen Lucas would add another goal to trim the Hereford the lead to 9-7.

At this point, guilt began to grow inside me, as I realized that I may have caused coach Gordon to jinx his own team.

Hereford would recover. Enter Jason Ashwood.

Ashwood plays tall for a smaller player. He admits the chatter about his size has given him motivation

The Hereford Sophomore attackman would score the next 2 goals for the Bulls in grand fashion, silencing the Glenelg crowd and essentially killing the Gladiators momentum. Ashwood’s first tally came off a slick finalizer move from behind the goal, as he beat his defender to the right side of the cage and stuck a low shot past Landry. Junior Jack Adams (Towson, 4 assists) would find Ashwood just a few moments later on the crease, for another spectacular goal which extended the Bulls lead to 4 goals, at 11-7.

Herefords goaltending duo of Connor Cunningham (Hofstra) and Brock Turnbaugh, combined for 12 saves on the day.

For the remainder of the 4th quarter, Glenelg was forced to double and press out on the talented Hereford attack in an effort to regain possession. Hereford’s attack was all too eager to split doubles and find the open man, bagging two more goals on the day. Glenelg would get one more score before the final horn.

Final Score: Hereford 13, Glenelg 8.

Hey stop that! Someone's gonna get hurt!

Glenelg coach Josh Hatmaker was proud of his team’s 2nd half resurgence, but confided that the early deficit was too much to overcome. “I told them, the first half I wasn’t proud of them, but the second half I was. I told them to look back at what they did in that second half and be proud,” Hatmaker said.

Hereford coach Brian King was humble in the victory and laid much of his success at his players’ feet.

“I’ve been so lucky to coach this much talent and to end each year here in this room, talking with the press about winning a state championship, it’s a relief,” King said. “I really have great kids, with good character, who I believe in. Although there were a few times I wish that second half clock would speed up, I believed these kids could pull it through for us. These kids love to compete,” King added.

Congrats to the Hereford Bulls and The Glenelg Gladiators for a fantastic 2012 lacrosse season.

See more photos of this game, as well as many more on our Facebook page.

Enjoy.

The Ohio Machine just bagged their first win in franchise history. Follow them during the 2012 season here.

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Sometimes, the stat sheet doesn’t tell the whole story, but it rarely lies. For Johns Hopkins, the stat sheet read like a tragic novel with Maryland playing the part of the antagonist who was climbing in windows and snatching people up. I took a look back at the stats to try to digest just how Maryland so convincing dominated a very good Johns Hopkins team. It wasn’t a single category that the Terps dominated, but almost every category.

Contrasting emotions

Take a look at some of the stats that stood out and then take a look at some of the pictures that stood out in our Facebook album.

Team Stats

Caused turnovers: Maryland 8 Hopkins 4
Shots: Maryland 28 Hopkins 16 (JHU managed just 3 shots in the 2nd and 4th Qtr.)
Groundballs: Maryland 26 Hopkins 15
Face-offs: Maryland 12 Hopkins 8
Clears: Maryland 12/14 Hopkins 14/21 (One-third of the Blue Jays clears failed)
Turn-overs: Maryland 10 Hopkins 14
EMO: Maryland 0/3 Hopkins 2/4 (JHU scored only 3 goals at even strength)
Saves: Maryland 7 Hopkins 8

Individual Stats (or lack thereof) of Note

Rob Guida: 0 goals, 3 assists, 1 shot
John Ranagan: 0 goals, 0 assists, 3 shots
Lee Coppersmith: 0 goals, 0 assists, 1 shot
Greg Edmonds: 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 shots
Wells Stanwick: 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 shots

Mark Goodrich got things going for the Jays, but it wasn't nearly enough

Refs had this face-off covered

Brian Cooper catches some butt end on Lee Coppersmith

Brian Cooper completes the check

Rob Guida version of the toe drag

Drew Snider and MD middies dodged to good spots all game and capitalized

Owen Blye's shot had Bassett beat, but sailed just off the mark

Joe Cummings and the Terps got to GLE and beyond all day

Cummings bagged this shot in tight

Hard shell UA numbers and Zima Gear decals

The Jays took out some frustration on Drew Snider

Goran Murray continued to impress and played beyond his years.

Hopkins broke out some new Nike kicks while the Terps sported UAs

Boland led the way for the Jays

Curtis Holmes won the battle at the face-off X

Terps celebrate with their fans

Today was not Chase’s day and J.P. Dalton did has best Chase Carraro impression, winning 17 of 22 face-offs, to lead Loyola’s charge over Denver and into the Final Four, Loyola’s first trip since 1998. The senior from St. Mary’s Annapolis dominated in his homecoming and along with Scott Ratliff and Josh Hawkins, controlled the draws throughout the game.

J.P. Dalton flips this face-off into the waiting stick of Josh Hawkins

Face-offs headlined the tale of the game, but were not the only story. Loyola enjoyed a significant man-up advantage over Denver and capitalized 4 times to Denver’s 1 extra-man goal. Two Loyola EMO goals came on what were essentially five on four plays as The Pioneers opted to shut-off Tewaraaton candidate Mike Sawyer, taking him and one defensive player out of the mix. While Sawyer was occupying a body at the top of the box, his teammates were taking advantage of the additional space. Denver would abandon that strategy later in the game as it was obvious that the Greyhounds were exploiting the extra room to operate.

Lusby catches Denver unprepared for his high heat

One of the beneficiaries of the extra room on EMO was Loyola attackman, Eric Lusby (Severna Park). Lusby got the ball rolling on his career day scoring his first of 5 goals on a man-up opportunity. Lusby would score two more man-up goals, two and even strength and chip in two assists on his way to a career high 7 point effort.

Loyola’s defense did its part to help the Hounds advance. Junior Reid Acton blanketed All-American Canadian phenom, Mark Matthews. If it’s possible for a 3 goal effort to be a quiet day, Matthews’s day was rather unspectacular. Acton limited Matthews’s touches and was in his face all day long. Loyola defensemen Dylan Grimm and Joe Fletcher shut down Denver attackmen Eric Law and Alex Demopoulos. The pair was limited to no goals and one assist. Denver got the balance of its scoring from Canadian midfielders, Cam Flint, Jeremy Noble and Wes Berg who each chipped in two goals.

Reid Acton was all over Mark Matthews, but #22 scored on this highlight reel shot

On this monumental day for Loyola University, Mike Sawyer scored his 51st goal to take over the top spot as the school’s single season goal scorer. Lusby is right on Sawyer’s heels with 45 on the year. Loyola advances to Gillette Stadium on Memorial Day weekend to take on the winner of UVA and Notre Dame.

Visit our Facebook album for more pictures of today’s quarterfinal action.

Greyhounds celebrate their trip to the Final Four

Patrick Kelly scored :06 into the second quarter off a feed from John Belze to break a 1-1 tie and give the Calvert Hall Cardinals a lead it would never relinquish. The Cardinals would score 15 more goals on their way to a convincing 17-3 win over Loyola Blakefield to capture the MIAA A Conference crown, their first since 2003 and sixth overall.

For the first 12:00 of play, the Loyola Dons matched Calvert Hall step for step, ground ball for ground ball and managed to win every first quarter face-off. However, from the second quarter on, the Cardinals completely dominated every facet of play. The boys in red and gold dissected the Dons defense, shelled their goalkeeper and stymied the Dons potent attack, leaving them in a state of utter dismay and confusion. And when the Dons were able to generate shots, they often sailed wide or were gobbled up by Stevenson bound net-minder Dimitri Pecunes (10 saves).

On the opposite end of the field, the story was quite different.

They say that speed kills, and if that statement is true, I should have dialed 9-1-1 because the Cardinal attack was murdering the Loyola long poles. Patrick Kelly (2g, 3a), Ryan Brown (4g) and Jordan Germershausen (3g, 1a), seemed to be playing in a higher gear than their defensive counterparts. Splitting double teams, creating separation and finding cutters all night long, the trio did as they pleased, despite the Dons efforts. Calvert Hall midfielder Carter Brown ran free at the top of the box as well, bagging 4 goals of his own.

It was a rough final game for Loyola senior goalkeeper Chris Thomas (7 saves), as most of the shots he faced were from close range, or from shooters left with plenty of time and room to pick their spots.

The Cardinal defense of Garrett Epple, Evan Connell and Tyler Mayes stifled the Dons talented attack of Conor Dalton, Jake Clise and Duke-bound Deemer Class (0 points). Clise did manage to garner some oooh’s and aaah’s from the crowd when his EMO blast shattered one of the plastic cable ties that held the net to the cage. It would be Clise’s only tally of the evening.

Defenseman Evan Connell got into the scoring column for the The Hall as well, taking a loose ball the length of the field and sticking a bouncer past the Dons keeper.

Once the Cardinals offense began to extend the lead, their defense did likewise, pressuring and doubling the ball every chance they could. They never allowed the Dons to get into a groove offensively and once the deficit grew, the Dons were forced to push the tempo which played right into the Cardinals style of play. I can’t imagine that the Dons wanted to get into a track meet with the Cardinals but that’s exactly what happened.

Calvert Hall dominated the face-off X as well, winning 20 of 28 draws, thanks in large part to USA Under 19 and UNC commit, junior Stephen Kelly.

After the game I caught up to Calvert Hall and UMBC bound attackman Jordan Germershausen, who was able to shed some light on his team’s 2nd quarter rebirth. “During that first quarter we just weren’t settled in, we weren’t running our cuts properly and we didn’t get our sticks settled down”, Germershausen said. “Once we got our cuts going and we settled down our sticks, we knew that we were good to go.”

The Loyola Dons can be proud of a great season and their 16-4 record, despite this disheartening end. They will surely be back in the playoff hunt again next year with a strong group of returning seniors. The Cardinals will graduate a boatload of offense, but with the return of Stephen Kelly and Jordan Germershausen, the future looks bright for The Hall.

Calvert Hall, who fell to Gilman in the finals last year 13-8, had been on a season long mission to prove themselves after being everyone’s preseason #1.

Mission accomplished.

There are no lax fans like MIAA fans.

Loyola fans were out in force.

Evan Connell (#9) tracking down Devin McNamara (#4).

Germershausen (#10) paid the price for his first of three goals.

Patrick Kelly pushing the action for The Hall.

Kevin O'Toole (#19) got away with this blow to the head.

Devin McNamara (#4) got to GLE often, but was unable to finish.

Plenty of clean hits and few penalties. The ref's were letting them play.

Austin Stewart (#1) just missed on this solo try.

Brian Bolewicki (#3) was a load for the Dons to handle.

Cody Rogers (#27) was effective from the wing, securing this face-off for The Hall.

Let the celebration begin!

The Cardinals celebrate with their rowdy fans.

Future Cardinals celebrate the win.

MIAA A conference champs!

Check out all of the photos we took on our Facebook page.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

UNDER ARMOUR ALL-AMERICA LACROSSE HONORS BESTOWED UPON NATION’S TOP HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS

Eighty-Eight Boys and Girls High School Seniors will Face-Off in the Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic on June 30

Baltimore, MD (May 16, 2012) ─ Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) and Corrigan Sports Enterprises, Inc. announced today the rosters for the 2012 Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic. Eighty-eight of the nation’s top boys and girls high school seniors have been selected to the sport’s highest honor and will play in the seventh annual Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic on Saturday, June 30at Towson University’s Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, MD.

Under Armour All-Americans are selected by a panel of lacrosse experts from Inside Lacrosse Magazine. The year-long selection process includes input from college and high school coaches from across the country as well as nominations from the public.

Players will experience a weekend of events that begins on Thursday, June 28 and culminates with the Under Armour All-America Girls Classic on Saturday, June 30 at 5PM followed by the Boys Classic at 8PM. The Boys Classic will be showcased live on ESPNU for the seventh year.

The 2012 Under Armour All-America rosters are once again filled with unparalleled talent recognized by top NCAA Division I universities. The University of North Carolina men’s lacrosse program tied an event record, with eight of its incoming recruits earning All-America honors. Additionally, the Duke University women’s team led the nation with five of its incoming freshmen making the esteemed list. The University of Michigan men’s program and Marquette University’s women’s program also signed their first Under Armour All-Americans.

At the high school level, the boys squad from Conestoga High School in Berwyn, PA witnessed four of its players make the All-America South team.  The girls programs at Garden City High School in Garden City, NY and McDonogh School in Baltimore, MD each had three seniors earn spots on the roster as well.

2012 also marks the third year that Canada will be represented in the game with Johns Hopkins University- bound attackman, Mikey Morris. It is also the first time the Boys Classic will have multiple athletes representing the state of Colorado.

The Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic also includes the Underclassmen Elite Stars tournament that will feature the top underclass boys and girls players from10 regions across the country. The three-day Elite Stars tournament culminates Sunday, July 1 with the girls and boys finals at 3:30PM on the fields surrounding Unitas Stadium.

Tickets can be purchased on www.ticketmaster.com. For more information about the event, visit www.underarmourlacrosse.com. You can also follow the event on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UAAllAmericaLax.

Tickets can be purchased on www.ticketmaster.com. For more information about the event, visit www.underarmourlacrosse.com. You can also follow the event on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UAAllAmericaLax.

24 Seven Lax Editors note:

I did a little excel pivot and determined which D1 School had the most commitments from the boys roster.

Looks like UNC and the rest of the ACC will remain in good shape. The ACC managed to grab 21 of the 48 UA All- Americans. I’m glad to see Michigan was able to grab a player from the UA list (Brendan Gaughan, Attack from Carlsbad, CA). I see that a Canadian player is representing the North for the 3rd straight year, Mikey Morris, who will be attending JHU next fall. Nice goin’ eh.

Mikey Morris from the 2011 Baltimore Summer Kickoff

Notice anyone missing from these teams? Let us know.

Severn School Lacrosse Camp for Boys

The Severn School in Severna Park, Maryland will host a lacrosse camp for boys just finishing Pre-K through the 8th grade. The camp will feature instruction from Johns Hopkins lacrosse legend Brian Wood, former Wesleyan coach Chris Howes and several current D1 and D3 players. Discounts are available if you have more than one child that would like to attend.  Registration form included below

Click on the image twice to download the full registration flyer. For more information you can also contact Brian Wood at brianwood15@verizon.net.

MLL Players Show Their Class

I took in my first MLL game of the season last week when the Ohio Machine invaded the home of the Chesapeake Bayhawks. Despite the lopsided score, the game was very entertaining and the slew of local youth players that attended were treated to quite a show. I was impressed with the number of players from both squads that ventured up into the stands to meet, great and sign autographs with the kids in attendance. Nice job guys!

2012 MIAA Fresh/Soph Championship Game

The underclassman square off today on the campus of Loyola Blakefield to crown a Fresh/Soph champion. Come out to Loyola and support the younger guys as St. Paul’s battles Loyola.

2012 Maryland Lacrosse Showcase

The 2012 Maryland Lacrosse Showcase Presented by Harrow will take place July 28th-29th in Frederick, MD at Ballenger Creek Park in Frederick, MD. It’s open to athletes graduating in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Athletes will be guaranteed 3 games with a possibility of 6 total, giving the college coaches in attendance plenty of opportunities to evaluate their performance. Currently 170 athletes are registered, representing 26 states and 2 Canadian Provinces. Registration ends on June 6th.

For more information regarding the showcase email: marylandlacrosseshowcase@gmail.com or visit www.marylandlacrosseshowcase.com .

2012 Freemason Lacrosse Tournament

The Frederick Men’s Lacrosse Association and the Freemason Tyrian Lodge 205 our proud to bring you the 2012 Freemason Lacrosse Tournament, June 9^th and 10^th in Walkersville Maryland.  The proceeds for the tournament will go towards a scholarship provided by the Freemason Tyrian Lodge to any local student.

For 2012 they are expecting 20 Open Division teams including Natty Brohs, Salt Shakerz, Dirty Birds, Blue Moon LC and FMLA.  The Grand Masters division will be played as a one day tournament and looks to have 8 competitive teams from all up and down the east coast.

For a chance to play some great lacrosse in Western Maryland, please visit http://freemasonlacrosse.org to register your team or for more information please contact Chris (chris@fredericklacrosse.com) or Erik (ErikHolt@myactv.net).”

24 Seven Lax D1 Predictions: Round 1

The first round of the D1 lacrosse playoffs begin this Saturday and there are several interesting match-ups. I know the locals in MD are dying to see a double header at Navy next week that could include a rematch of Hopkins-Maryland. Tom and I sat down and hashed out our picks for round 1.

Wow, there are some major disagreements amongst the 24 Seven Lax staff over these first round picks. I hope Tom doesn’t get too upset when most of his are wrong.

Got an opinion or want to post your winners? Go right ahead, post ‘em at the bottom of this page.

STX Stallion Side Wall Patterns

In response to several email requests that we received regarding the stringing pattern that Tom used on my new STX Stallion, I’ve uploaded some close up shots for you to dissect. Check it out and post the pattern if you can figure it out because I haven’t got a clue.

I know, that last pic is crooked. Cut me some slack, I was holding the stick by the shaft with my knees as I took the pic. That’s difficult with my osteoporosis, gout and arthritis flare-ups. Turning 40 ain’t easy ya’ know.

That’s all I got. Enjoy the first round of the playoffs! Next week brings the MIAA and MD Public School Playoffs! Should be a blast.

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Stevenson and BSU slogged through the elements and the 1st round NCAA game

On a rain soaked night, with only the most die hard fans in attendance, the Stevenson University Mustangs used a 6-0 second quarter performance to propel them by the upstart and visiting Birmingham Southern Panthers by a 13-2 final.

The Panthers, winners of the SCAC conference, boasted a 14-4 record entering the first round NCAA Division III contest. Stevenson carried a 15-4 record and the #5 ranking into the first round of the playoffs.

The Panthers of Birmingham, Alabama were making their first trip to the NCAA playoffs and the Baltimore area. Stevenson was a tall order for a program only 4 years old. The Panthers faced an up hill climb, or on this day of monsoon-like conditions, perhaps paddling upstream is the more appropriate analogy.

Loren Bailey and the Mustangs pressured BSU all over the field

The Panthers showed no signs early of drowning in the moment. BSU Freshman attackman Erik Klein, broke the seal on the scoreboard to give the Panthers the early lead. For Klein of Coquitlam, B.C., the nation’s 2nd leading goal scorer in DIII, it would be his 62nd on the year. While Klein was doing work on the field, I was in the parking lot mentally preparing myself to enter the deluge for the benefit of you LAS readers.

Speaking of deluge, Klein’s goal must have lit a fire under Stevenson, as they would score the next 10 goals to put the game away. By halftime, the Mustangs would hold a 9-1 advantage, paced by Tyler Reid’s 4 goals. Reid would finish with a career high 5 on the day.

Stevenson used a suffocating ride and an aggressive defense to prevent BSU from getting much going on the night. The Stangs looked as if they wanted to take the fight out of the visiting team as quickly as possible. This strategy led to a +10 advantage in turnovers and a +20 advantage in ground balls. BSU actually recorded fewer ground balls than Stevenson’s goal total with only 12. Reid’s goal with less than a minute to play typified BSU’s inability to handle the Mustang pressure. BSU goalie, Andrew Huffman, mishandled the ball in the middle of the field and Reid collected the loose ball and scored one-on-one.

Tyler Reid scores his 4th on the night off a BSU turnover

While the statistics look overwhelmingly positive for the Mustangs, Stevenson made their share of mental mistakes. At times, the Mustangs committed unnecessary penalties while getting caught up in the moment of what became a chippy game at times. A few BSU players were clearly frustrated with the aggressive nature of Stevenson’s defense and that frustration translated into pushing, shoving, and ankle slashing. It also translated into 9:00 for Birmingham Southern and 9:30 penalties against Stevenson.

Klein tallied more flags than goals on the night

Fortunately, both coaches reigned in their players and the final minutes ticked off the clock in a relatively uneventful manner. Stevenson keeper Ian Bolland would finish with 10 saves while his counterpart Andrew Huffman was credited with 15. Sam Wyatt did a stellar job at the faceoff x for Stevenson, going 10/13 on the night.

BSU is congratulated on their monumental year

Stevenson moves on to the second round to play Gettysburg in Owings Mills in what will most likely be a 7PM start on Saturday.

Visit our Facebook page for more pictures of the rain with some lax action mixed in.

By Paul Stromberg, Freshman Mount Saint Joe. Photos by Tom Rolando
Coming off an upset win over McDonogh, the host Mount Saint Joseph lacrosse team, fell to Calvert Hall 13 – 4 on Friday. A game of runs for Calvert Hall, the #1 Cardinals started the game with a quick goal from Patrick Kelly, :02 into the game.

This started a 4-0 run for Calvert Hall, which was ended by the Gaels, Nick Fairley with 11:39 left in the 1st quarter. The Cardinals then went on another run, this time with 1 goal from senior Ryan Brown, 1 from Patrick Kelly, and 1 from Carter Brown. The Gaels scored their second goal of the game with 3:06 to go in the half, from senior Craig Costabile.

At the half, Calvert Hall led 7-2.

The Cardinals came out of the half time break hitting on all cylinders, scoring 4 goals in the 3rd quarter and not allowing the Gaels to score once. At the start of the 4th and final quarter, the Cardinals lead was up to 9 (11-2) and seemed quite insurmountable.

The large lead did not stop Mount St. Joe’s, Conrad Ordakowski from scoring :33 seconds into the 4th quarter. Brian Bolewicki scored for Calvert Hall with 9:02 left in the game, to push the Cardinals lead back up to 9. Calvert Hall put their last and final goal past Gaels  goalkeeper Colin Reymann with 5:33 left in regulation.

Although Gael sophomore Clay Kirby, scored with 1:37 left, the game was already handled by the Cardinals, who in the end won by a final score of 13 -4.

The runs to start both halves surely helped Calvert Hall cruise to victory. Calvert Hall (14-2, 8-1 MIAA) defeated St. Pauls (3-14, 0-8 MIAA) on Tuesday, in their regular season finale. The Cardinals  improved to 8 and 1 in league play, while Mount Saint Joe (12-8, 2-7 MIAA) fell  to Loyola (14-3, 6-2 MIAA)  to wrap up their regular season.

The MIAA tournament begins Friday (5/11). Calvert Hall  grabbed the #1 seed in the tournament and will face the winner of the game between  McDonogh and Boys Latin.

What typically follows the selection announcement is a tidal wave of media coverage, as bloggers and journalists alike race to their keyboards to be the first to announce their displeasure that the University of (Insert Any 12-4 Team With a Low RPI here) was left off the ticket.

I usually avoid such nonsense, mostly because I have to spend the first few days following the announcements erasing 45 episodes of The Backyardigans so my DVR can hold all the games I am about to record.  Think my wife will let me sit in front of the tube for 8 hours watching lax on a Saturday? Nay young man. You must be single.

So what’s this post all about then? Well, this.

Let me get this straight. Goucher (17-1) travels to Washington College (11-5) for their first round game?

First, shame on all of us in Maryland, especially myself and the 24 Seven Lax staff for sleeping on Goucher. The Gophers went 17-1 this year. Their only loss of the season was an 8-5 loss to Gettysburg back in February. Since then, they’ve won 14 straight.

Goucher is loaded with talent and despite playing in what some consider to be a weak conference, these kids can ball. The Gophers have 5 players with 20 goals or more including Kyle Boncaro (54g, 27a), Rory Averett (48g, 15a) and Matt Lynch (35g, 37a). Junior net-minder Connor Mishaw’s save percentage is a staggering 66.8%.

This is Goucher’s 5th consecutive season with 10 wins or more. Head coach Kyle Hannan has never had a losing season since taking over for Jim Lyons in 1992. Hannan’s record currently sits at an impressive 128-70 through 12 seasons. That’s like 65%.

I’m terrible at math, you might want to confirm that.

Plus, their campus is right down the street.  We have no excuse for not covering these guys.

Oh, back to my rant.

So for all of their accolades and a fantastic 17-1 record, the #10 ranked Gophers must travel to #18 Washington College for their first round game? Oh, did I mention that Goucher defeated Washington College 8-6 earlier this season? Does this make any sense at all to any of you?

A few people have given me the “strength of schedule” excuse as to why the committee would allow Washington College to host this game. But as far as I am concerned, you throw that out the window when you have a head to head victory over someone that you outrank by 8 spots.

Just wanted to add that I mean no disrespect to the Shoremen. In fact, I’m pleased to see their program reemerging as a D3 power once again. They simply don’t deserve to host this game.

So how will Goucher be rewarded for defeating the Washington College Shoremen in Chestertown? That’s right, you guessed it. A TRIP TO SALISBURY!

I’m just gonna come right out and say it. Goucher got screwed.

Goucher’s coaching staff did not wish to comment. They have class, unlike me.

Best of luck to coach Hannan and the Goucher Gophers on Wednesday, and sorry for ignoring you this season. If I’m still doing this next season, I promise that it won’t happen again.