Maryland: Tourney to Benefit Aikens Children Fund

Jon Buzby

MaxPreps.com

The annual Maryland High School Lacrosse Showdown will take place Saturday, April 5, at Johns Hopkins University.

The tournament benefits the Aikens Children Fund, which was started in memory of former Loyola lacrosse coach Diane Geppi-Aikens, who passed away in June 2003 following a six-year battle with brain cancer. Proceeds go toward the college education of Aikens’ four children.

The event has temporarily moved away from its traditional Easter weekend date.

"We usually do the Showdown on Easter Monday, but we're going with Saturday, April 5 this year since Easter falls so early. Nothing kills attendance like a March snowstorm,” tournament director Craig Amoss said.

In addition to returning teams Severna Park and Archbishop Spalding, the tournament will also feature six new competitors.

"We're really excited about the new teams we have this year,” Amoss said. “South River, Century and John Carroll are first-time participants for the girls, as are Glenelg, Spalding and DeMatha for the boys. It's good that we're getting representation from other areas of the state."

In the girls’ bracket, South River will face Century in the 9 a.m. time slot, followed by Mt. Hebron squaring off against John Carroll at 11 a.m.

On the boys’ side, Glenelg will play Spalding at 1 p.m., followed by Severna Park vs DeMatha at 3 p.m.

For more information about the event or to make a donation to the Aikens Children Fund, visit the tournament website at www.mdlacrosseshowdown.com.

Mark Your Calendars

The 2008 Maryland Public Secondary School Athletic Association Lacrosse Championships will be held on May 20 and 21 at UMBC – Catonsville.

The 2008 boys’ lacrosse senior all-star game will be held on June 1 at Broadneck High School in Annapolis, time to be announced.

The Kelly Award, presented annually to the best high school lacrosse player in Maryland, will also be announced on June 1, at Navy Marine Corps Stadium.

McDonogh Rebounds from First Loss

Boys' prep powerhouses McDonogh and Malvern Prep (Pa.) met halfway and squared off on the turf field at Rullo Stadium on the University of Delaware campus following the Blue Hens' game against Brown. The game was everything you’d expect from two nationally-ranked teams, and in the end the Eagles from McDonogh edged Malverne, 6-5.

The Eagles, coached by Scott Corrigan, had entered Saturday’s game looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season, a 9-8 overtime heartbreaker, to LaSalle of Philadelphia. The loss ended a 16-game winning streak dating back to last season for the Eagles (7-1 this season).

“We are proud of the way we handled the adversity during the second half of the (LaSalle) game and know that we grew as a team because of our ability to stick together and keep our heads when things got hectic," Corrigan said. "Our team is young in some spots, but we found a way to make plays in the clutch against a very, very good LaSalle team."

Princeton-bound Tyler Fiorito, considered by many to be the top goalie in the nation, recorded 16 saves in the loss, including a huge one with five seconds to go in regulation to force the overtime. Brian Hess had two goals for the Eagles while six others tallied one goal apiece.

They entered Saturday’s game against Malvern Prep touting a high-scoring offense, led by attackman Tyler Frederick and midfielders Sam Ford and Hess. The offense averages just over nine goals a game, while yielding 5.5 behind Fiorito.

“We know that Malvern Prep is a tremendous program, but our fundamental focus is on our ability to execute to the best of our ability and we’ll put in a great effort,” Corrigan said.

And so the Eagles did.

Coach John McEvoy’s Malvern Friars entered the game with an unblemished 4-0 record, averaging over 12 goals and giving up fewer than five per game.

Tracking the State Champs

The Severna Park High School boys and girls lacrosse teams entered the 2008 campaign looking to get off to a fast start in defense of their public school 4/3 state titles.

The boys were ranked No. 9 in the Maryland Coaches Association preseason poll and opened up with a convincing 17-3 romp over North County (0-3). They followed that up by handing Gonzaga (6-1) its first loss of the season with a 12-7 win, and capped off their opening week with a 4-1 win over Bullis (3-3).

Sam Jones leads the Falcons in points with six goals and six assists and Sean Price and Pat Morrison have five goals apiece. In goal, Andrew Gvozden (heading to Hofstra) has an 85 percent save percentage.

“We have been playing very unselfishly as a team. The games this weekend were a great test for us against great opponents in Gonzaga and Bullis. Now I feel our kids know what to do to win, we just have to go out there and continually do it every game,” Severna coach Larry Kramer said.

The girls’ team exploded out of the gate with three lopsided victories. The Falcons defeated the Severn School, 14-8, and followed that by soundly beating Towson High School, 20-4. They finished their first week of the season by trouncing North County, 21-0, and are ranked No. 1 in Maryland according to most polls.

Loyola-Blakefield Loses First

The Eagles of Loyola lost their first game of the season, falling to Philadelphia-based Haverford, 7-5.

Loyola’s setback, coupled with McDonogh’s loss to LaSalle earlier in the week, leaves just three undefeated teams in the high-powered MIAA A Conference: St. Mary’s-Annapolis (8-0), Calvert Hall (7-0) and Gilman (7-0).

St. Mary’s plays at Calvert Hall on April 8 and at Gilman on May 8. Calvert Hall plays at Gilman on April 25.

McDonogh has a compelling interstate game on April 5 against perennial New York State Section 1 power Yorktown.

Century Edges Dulaney

Century High’s junior midfielder Katie Schwarzmann scored five goals and had two assists to lead the Knights past the Dulaney Lions, 10-9, in the Baltimore Lacrosse Showdown.

"Every day, we just work harder on passing, catching and working together," Schwarzmann told the Baltimore Sun. "The team is young and it is different from last year. We are building each day on getting better."

The Knights (3-0) did a nice job of spreading the ball around as six different players scored goals. Goalie Kaitlin Pentz had 10 saves in the win.

"In a tight game like that, you don't have those all of the time, but when you do, you want to see how your team is going to respond. I think both teams did a nice job with that," Century coach Rose Pentz said. "We have quite a few new players. The whole team has a lot of heart and they want to continue the tradition of Century lacrosse."

Player of the Week

Severna Park High School’s Sam Jones jump-started his season with a five-goal, two-assist outburst in a 17-3 win over North County. He followed that up with one goal and four assists against Gonzaga and one goal against Bullis. The Falcons are off to a 3-0 start in large part due to Jones’ efforts.

“Sam Jones is a true competitor and the QB of our offense. He leads by example. We are expecting big numbers from him this season,” coach Larry Kramer said.

Email your player of the week nominations to MaxPreps Maryland correspondent Jon Buzby at JonBuzby@hotmail.com.