Maryland: Lax Powers Face Off

By Jon Buzby

MaxPreps.com

On Tuesday, March 11, 11th-ranked Severn faced-off against No. 14 Bullis Prep of Potomac in the first Maryland high school lacrosse game of the season. Despite officially being on spring break, the Admirals of Severn defeated Bullis Prep, 7-1.

Junior Alex Swerdloff and sophomore Alex Cramer scored two goals each and senior Alex Plavner, a Vermont recruit, made 14 saves to lead the defense in an impressive performance on the road to secure the victory.

The win was the first for new coach Brian Woods. “It was good to simply get a win over a quality team after a couple weeks of practices and scrimmages,” Woods told The Capital.

Maryland Top Five Results

The top five Maryland teams, according to the Maryland State Coaches Association Preseason Poll (MSLCA), were all in action last week. All five teams opened their 2008 seasons with victories and three of them still had perfect records after the weekend.

* No. 1 Loyola Blakefield (also top-rated in the STX/Inside Lacrosse Preseason Poll) opened the 2008 season with a 15-6 win against St. Anthony’s of Long Island, N.Y., at the University of Pennsylvania.

The next day the Dons scored an 8-4 win over The Hill School (Md.) at Drexel University and will undoubtedly remain atop both polls this week.

* No. 2 Georgetown Prep (No. 5 STX/Inside Lacrosse) opened up at home with a 14-3 win against Oakton (Va.) and followed that up with a 9-3 victory over Regis Jesuit (Colo.) in the Jesuit Lacrosse Classic.

The Little Hoyas then pushed their record to 5-0 over the weekend by defeating Brophy Prep (Ariz.) 7-5, St. Joseph’s Prep (Pa.) 13-5, and Rockhurst Jesuit (Mo.) 15-0, in the Classic, which was held at both Georgetown and Gonzaga.

* No. 3 Landon (seventh in STX/Inside Lacrosse) opened its season by jumping out to a quick start and coming away with a convincing 13-3 win over Our Lady of Good Counsel.

Senior Nick Rhoads won 10 of 13 face-offs and seniors Mike Grossman and Grant Verstandgi each had a goal and two assists. Freshman Patrick Keena started his varsity career off by scoring four goals and junior Josh Offit contributed two goals and an assist.

On defense, senior goalies Nick Pohanka and C.T. Fisher combined to stop 11 of 14 shots.

“Obviously we were pleased with the win, but our focus is now on Gilman, who we play Friday,” coach Rob Bordley said after the game.

On Friday night, No. 7 Gilman defeated Landon, 16-9. Junior Marcus Holman scored seven goals and tallied two assists in the victory. His brother, Matt, a senior, led a defense that allowed just two first-half goals, both on extra man opportunities by Landon.

"I was really proud of our team's complete effort.  The boys played very hard and were able to have some success in almost every phase of the game, and it takes that kind of effort to beat a team like Landon," coach Brooks Matthew said. 

* No. 4 St. Mary’s opened its season by scoring five goals and then holding off St. Alban’s (D.C.) for a 5-3 win.

"St. Albans is a good team and we are very similar to one another.  We played with composure at the end of the game and I thought we played hard the entire 48 minutes,” coach Matt Hogan said.

St. Mary’s followed up its season-opening win with a 13-6 victory over Highland Park (Texas) and a 15-5 rout of Episcopal Dallas during its Texas road trip.

* No. 5 Boys Latin (No. 9 on LaxPower) defeated Brophy College Prep (Ariz.), 16-4, as coach Bobby Shriver began his 29th season at the helm, along with nine – yes, nine  – assistants. The game was played at Johns Hopkins University.

Junior Jack Rice had four goals and sophomore Patrick Foster added three to lead the Lakers’ offense. Junior Christian Walsh added three assists. Senior Adam Scharff (headed for Bates) had nine saves in the rout.

Boys Latin then flew to Florida for spring break, where it lost to nationally-ranked and undefeated St. Andrews, 7-6. Later it defeated St. Marks (Texas), 11-7. St. Andrew's win over Boys improved the Florida-based Scots record to 13-0.

The Lakers (18-2 in 2007) will play Gulliver Prep on Tuesday and then fly home in quest of their sixth league crown, following last year’s MIAA A Conference second-place finish to Loyola Blakefield.

Player of the Week: Sean Maguire, Calvert Hall

MSLCA second-team preseason all-state selection Sean Maguire scored 16 points in his first two games this season. He tallied nine points (5G, 4A) to lead Calvert Hall to a 14-7 win over the Hill Academy of Canada. Maguire followed that up with a five-goal, two-assist performance in a 17-4 win against the Collegiate School (Va.). He will attend Towson University in the fall. 

Please send your player of the week nominations to JonBuzby@hotmail.com.

Boys, Girls Lacrosse Commitments

Looking ahead to spring of 2009, the following is a list of players who have made commitments to colleges across the country. The list was compiled by the Baltimore Sun.

Boys Lacrosse Commitments

Matt Bell, St. Mary's; Villanova
Joe Bonanni, St. Mary's; Ohio State
Drew Borrebach, Archbishop Spalding; Army
Mike Brashears, Calvert Hall; Towson
Taylor Burns, Severn; Delaware
Shane Casey, Mount St. Joseph; Towson
Alex Cook, North Carroll; Villa Julie
Joe Cummings, Loyola; Maryland
J.P. Dalton, St. Mary's; Loyola
Stephen Farrell, John Carroll; Cabrini
Mark Feild, Boys' Latin; Princeton
Alek Ferro, Loyola; Penn
Tyler Fiorito, McDonogh; Princeton
Henson Ford, St. Paul's; VMI
Jacob Fradkin, St. Paul's; Rutgers
Dana Frye, St. Mary's; Lehigh
Tommy Goldman, Friends; Vermont
Sam Greenberg, McDonogh; Dickinson
Tyler Griffith, Calvert Hall; VMI
Andrew Gvozden, Severna Park; Hofstra
Evan Hockel, Archbishop Spalding; Salisbury
Kyle Hofstetter, Glenelg; VMI
Caleb Holt, Broadneck; UMBC
Daniel Incontrera, Marriotts Ridge; St. Mary's
Andrew Kearney, John Carroll; Mount St. Mary's
Eric Keppeler, Dulaney; Notre Dame
Tyler Kimball, Gilman; Navy
Matt Lamon, St. Mary's; Towson
Cliff Larkin, St. Paul's; Princeton
Cody Lehrer, Dulaney; Mount St. Mary's
Chris Lightner, Calvert Hall; Johns Hopkins
Michael Lioi, Archbishop Curley; Detroit Mercy
Sean Maguire, Calvert Hall ; Towson
Jay Mann, Dulaney; Navy
Scott Matthews, St. Paul's; Johns Hopkins
Rich May, Archbishop Spalding; Navy
Charlie McComas, Boys' Latin; North Carolina
Jason McFadden, Calvert Hall; Georgetown
Keith Murray, Annapolis; Air Force
Ryan Musgrave, Mount St. Joseph; Mount St. Mary's
Adam Paterakis, McDonogh; Salisbury
Kristian Pederson, Hereford; Ursinus
Alex Plavner, Severn; Vermont
Justin Radebaugh, Boys' Latin; UMBC
Mike Rogers, DeMatha; Notre Dame
Taylor Rosseau, St. Mary's; Marist
Pat Sartori, McDonogh; Gettysburg
Jon Selfridge, Glenelg; Lynchburg
Andrew Sellers, Archbishop Curley; Mercyhurst
Timothy Shaeffer, Annapolis; UMBC
Eric Smith, Boys' Latin; Ohio State
Peter Smyth, St. Paul's; Princeton
Elliot Sneeringer, Mount St. Joseph; Mount St. Mary's
Mark Staines, Severn; North Carolina
Steele Stanwick, Loyola; Virginia
Tom Thibeault, Boys' Latin; Bucknell
Aaron Verardi, Boys' Latin; UMBC
Jake Willertz, Mount St. Joseph; Mount St. Mary's
Kacey Woods, McDonogh; Towson
Brett Zeback, John Carroll; Cabrini

Girls Lacrosse Commitments

Casey Ancarrow, John Carroll; James Madison
Catherine Bachur, Towson; Princeton
Bina Barrett, Severn; Oregon
Meg Becker, Hereford; Gettysburg
Kristina Beese, St. Paul's; George Washington
Allison Behringer, Severna Park; Princeton
Tory Binder, Marriotts Ridge; Pfeiffer
Kristy Black, Glenelg; Maryland
Anna Boeri, NDP; Stanford
Emilie Boeri, NDP; Stanford
Shannon Bone, North Harford; Virginia Tech
Meagan Borgoyn, Liberty; Shippensburg
Kara Bowman, St. Mary's; George Mason
Gwendolyn Branscome, North Harford; Cincinnati
Anne Brockmeyer, John Carroll; Yale
Tori Butts, Perry Hall; Frostburg State
Dana Cahill, Mercy; Penn State
Allyson Carey, John Carroll; Vanderbilt
Catherine Carr, St. Mary's; Vanderbilt
Shannon Casey, John Carroll; Queens (N.C.)
Leanne Catalano, Centennial; Brown
Brittany Chamberlain, Westminster; Penn State
Katie Cloud, Severna Park; Towson
Caroline Cochran, St. Mary's; Virginia
Cailin Colegrove, Dulaney; Duquesne
Meaghan Conlon, Liberty; Mount St. Mary's
Caroline Crow, Severn; Yale
Catherine Crowe, Severn; Holy Cross
Ashley Cudmore, Bel Air; Loyola
Monica D'Ambrogio, Severn; Johns Hopkins
Stephanie Deisher, Liberty; Loyola
Casey Disharoon, South River; George Washington
Danielle Estill, St. Mary's; Delaware
Jen Fox, St. Mary's; Johns Hopkins
Maria Fortino, McDonogh; Stanford
Danielle Freiji, NPD; Villanova
Julie Funk, Mount de Sales; Loyola
Grace Gaeng, John Carroll; Maryland
Julie Gardner, Severna Park; Virginia
Maria Gioia, Mount Hebron; Duquesne
Lauren Giraldi, Glenelg; Vermont
Amy Gladfelter, Liberty; Duquesne
Alana Glanell, South River; St. Joseph's (Pa.)
Kirsten Goldberg, St. Paul's; Dartmouth
Jessica Graybeal, Havre de Grace; Wilmington
Christina Habicht, Loch Raven; Villanova
Kerry Hamill, McDonogh; Yale
Liz Hamilton, Roland Park; Maryland
Mackenzie Hanley, NDP; Virginia Tech
Jennifer Hardesty, Westminster; Penn
Kim Harkins, St. Mary's; Lafayette
Isabel Harvey, St. Paul's; Brown
Cathy Hebert, Roland Park; Cincinnati
Jaclyn Heck, Glenelg Country; Oregon
Kelsey Heckler, Fallston; Marist
Kait Hendricks, Fallston; Queens
Ana Heneberry, Dulaney; Loyola
Lauren Houck, C. Milton Wright; Cincinnati
Kelsey Hughes, Severn; Denver
Beth Jancuska, Westminster; UMBC
Cory Johnson, Marriotts Ridge; Old Dominion
Amanda Jones, Severna Park; Pfeiffer
Karri Ellen Johnson, Broadneck; Maryland
Chrissy Jones, North Harford; Hofstra
Lindsay Kibler, Westminster; Towson
Blair King, Dulaney; Delaware
Courtney Kirk, Roland Park; Vanderbilt
Alicia Krause, Mount Hebron; Duquesne
Rebecca Kreshtool, Pikesville; George Washington
Jackie LaMonica, Hereford; Towson
Taylor Lange, Hereford; Vanderbilt
Jordan Lopez, NDP; Boston University
Ali Luongo, John Carroll; Lehigh
Alayna Markwordt, Glenelg; Ohio State
Ali Mattingly, South River; Cincinnati
Hannah McBee, Urbana; Old Dominion
Bayley McDonough, Westminster; American
Caitlin McHugh, Mercy; James Madison
Brigid McTavish, South Carroll; Mount St. Mary's
Devin Meade, North Carroll; Johns Hopkins
Rachel Mercier, Chapelgate; Cincinnati
Jenny Michael, Centennial; William & Mary
Brigid Milchling, NDP; Limestone
Amanda Mosketti, Fallston; Virginia Tech
Jenna Mugele, St. Paul's; Davidson
Alex Napoli, River Hill; James Madison
Carly Napora, McDonough; Georgetown
Jessica Nonn, Catonsville; Virginia Tech
Joy Oberlin, Dulaney; George Mason
Morgan O'Brien, Broadneck; Navy
Chelsea O'Neill, Severn; American
Josie Owen, Severn; Virginia
Sarah Parks, Centennial; Dartmouth
Kira Paterakis, McDonogh; North Carolina
Jennifer Peters, Winters Mill; St. Joseph's
Kendall Pittinger, Severna Park; Vanderbilt
Annie Politsch, McDonogh; Boston University
Alex Priddy, Severn; Vanderbilt
Tori Pyzik, John Carroll; Oregon
Kylie Ramsland, Chapelgate; Cincinnati
Jane Randall, Roland Park; Princeton
Claire Ranney, North Harford; Long Island
Hayley Rausch, Severna Park; New Hampshire
Rebecca Reymann, Catonsville; Old Dominion
Esther Rufolo, Chapelgate; Mount St. Mary's
Katherine Russo, Winters Mill; Cincinnati

Meghan Ryan, NDP; Louisville
Megan Schrum, St. Mary's; Johns Hopkins
Megan Seidman, Pikesville; George Washington
Jennifer Semler, Perry Hall; Mount St. Mary's
Rachel Serio, McDonogh; Johns Hopkins
Colleen Shea, Seton Keough; Penn State
Laura Simanski, Roland Park; Cincinnati
Becca Steinberg, Severn; Denver
Stephanie Steinweg, Broadneck; William & Mary
Katie Sullivan, Bryn Mawr; Colgate
Mary Teeters, Centennial; Towson
Erin Velez, NDP; Yale
Brittany Vieira, Liberty; Boston University
Jenna Wadsworth, Severna Park; Bucknell
Kory Webster, Bel Air; Wilmington
Morgan Widlake, Seton Keough; Virginia Tech
Gracie Wills, St. Paul's; Delaware
Natalie Wills, St. Mary's; Vanderbilt
Julie Wolfinger, Westminster; Virginia Tech
Ally Yawman, Hereford; Washington College
Monica Zabel, Mount Hebron; James Madison
Theresa Zichelli, Severna Park; Penn State
Laura Zinkand, NDP; Cincinnati

Jon Buzby covers Maryland for MaxPreps.com He may be reached at JonBuzby@hotmail.com.