The sport of lacrosse is not new to the Japanese culture, having been played at the university level since the mid-1980s. But in a country where academics is the primary focus for high school-aged students, it wasn’t until recently that the sport was introduced to high schools, and like the United States, the sport invented by Native Americans has quickly become very popular in the Asian country.
This past weekend, the Keio High School lacrosse team made a stop in Maryland as part of its trip to the United States and faced the junior varsity teams of not only three of Maryland’s finest programs — Gilman, St. Paul’s and Boys’ Latin — but traditionally three of the top programs in the country.
Keio, located in Fujisawa, shares a campus with Keio University, which has worked closely with Johns Hopkins University on several exchange programs. The team arrived in the United States last weekend and spent three days touring New York City before traveling south and being treated to a clinic and practice session conducted by the Johns Hopkins University players and coaches on Thursday afternoon.
Following three very competitive but friendly games over the weekend against teams playing at a level completely foreign to the visiting team, the Keio players and coaching staff headed back to New York confident that their main purpose for their trip — to uphold their country’s lacrosse slogan “Lacrosse Makes Friends” — was fulfilled.
Maryland lax teams ranked in top 10 nationally
The state of Maryland is traditionally a hotbed for all levels of lacrosse, and the 2009 season is no different with several teams ranked in the LaxPower.com top 10 last week.
Gilman is the No. 1 boys’ team in the country with a 2-0 record, followed by St. Mary’s Annapolis (No. 3, 5-0), Georgetown Prep (No. 7, 5-1) and McDonogh (No. 10, 4-0).
Robert Posniewski, Georgetown Prep
File Photo By Michael Starghill Jr.
The Greyhounds defeated rivals Landon (12-5) and Georgetown (9-6) to get off to a quick start.
“I am proud of our team's effort thus far,” Gilman coach Brooks Matthews said. “We have played some pretty tough teams and risen to the challenge. It is still early, and so our team has not really developed an identity yet, but our seniors have taken their leadership role seriously, and all of the boys are playing hard and improving.”
On the girls’ side, Archbishop Spalding holds the No. 1 spot after an impressive 5-0 start. Mt. Hebron and Westminster are ranked Nos. 3 and 4, each with a 1-0 record, and Centennial and Leonardtown are Nos. 7 and 8, also with 1-0 records.
Glenelg girls open lax season with win
Glenelg girls lacrosse coach Ginger Kincaid stressed defense all week as her team prepared for its opening game, and it paid off as the Gladiators downed rival Atholton, 13-3.
Glenelg used a balanced scoring attack led by Katie Grogan (three goals), Ellie Axenfeld (two) and Katie Chase (two). Goalie Katie Beaver recorded seven saves to notch her first win of the season.
Laura Lazas scored both of Atholton’s first-half goals, but her team couldn’t overcome a 6-2 halftime deficit. Atholton goalie Emily Seidel recorded 19 saves.
Marriotts Ridge opens with win
The Marriotts Ridge and River Hill girls lacrosse teams each scored five first-half goals, but it was a four-goal outburst to start the second half that gave the Mustangs the lead for good on its way to a 12-8 win over the Hawks in each team’s opening game.
Ridge forward Nicole Lacey led all scorers with four goals. Lindsey DiAntonio, Alanna Diffendal and Laura Maskell each scored twice. Goalie Abbey Clipp recorded six saves.
For River Hill, Mara Gluck had a stellar game in goal, turning away 15 shots to keep the Hawks in the game. Nanci Collins, Anna Kim and Kathryn Gaasch each scored two goals in the loss.
Severna Park boys open with win over Annapolis
The Severna Park boys lacrosse team scored seven first-quarter goals and flew to victory from there, winning 17-6 over Annapolis in the opening game for both schools.
Adam MacBride scored 30 seconds into the game to get the Falcons on the board first and finished with a game-high four goals. Sam Jones and Andrew Taylor each scored hat tricks, with Jones also tallying five assists. Sean Price added two goals and also had three assists for Severna Park.
Andrew Poulx and Dylan Ziegler led Annapolis with two goals each.
The Falcons fired 19 shots on goal in their high-scoring first half and finished the game with 35, compared to 25 for Annapolis. Severna Park also held a 15-7 advantage in face-offs and scooped up more ground balls (31-25) than its opponent.
Jon Buzby is the Maryland correspondent for MaxPreps.com
