By Jon Buzby
MaxPreps.com
Loyola (13-4) avenged a lopsided regular-season loss with a nail-biting, 12-11 win over previously undefeated Gilman (18-1) Tuesday night, capturing its second-straight MIAA A Conference championship.
Virginia-bound Steele Stanwick, considered by many to be the best player in the country, tallied a goal and two assists. He touted the win in front of an estimated 5,500 fans at Johnny Unitas Stadium on the Towson University campus as a complete team effort.
"Unbelievable. There's no way to describe it," Stanwick told the Baltimore Sun. "It was a great team effort."
Following a halftime deadlock at 6-6, both teams traded several second-half goals until Rob Fitzpatrick gave the Dons a two-goal cushion with less than three minutes remaining. Following one last goal by the Greyhounds’ Davey Emala (game-high seven goals), Loyola was able to run the clock out and the celebration began.
"Gilman's a great team, but it's a great win for our kids," Loyola coach Jack Crawford told the Baltimore Sun. "We're not always pretty, but our kids fight their tails off."
Joe Cummings, headed for the University of Maryland in the fall, led the Dons’ with three goals. Loyola spread the rest of the offensive wealth around with Fitzpatrick, Anthony Golden, Neil Hutchinson and Colin McKew each adding two goals to the offensive effort.
Maryland-bound goalie M.J. Leonard recorded 16 saves for Loyola and Matthew Holman stopped six for Gilman.
Archbishop Curley Claims B Title
Kevin Ruth’s goal with just over three minutes remaining clinched an 8-5 win for Archbishop Curley over John Carroll (12-3), securing its second-straight MIAA B Conference championship.
The Friars (15-1) were led by Brandon Capaletti and Pete Lee, each scoring two goals. In addition to his game-winning goal, Ruth tallied three assists to help the Friars complete a perfect season in conference play. Curley defeated Carroll, 5-3 and 16-6, during the regular season.
Graham Archer had two goals for the Patriots and Josh Pons dished out three assists.
Cardinal Gibbons Captures C Title
The third time was a charm for the Cardinal Gibbons.
Following two consecutive losses in the conference finals, Cardinal Gibbons overcame a three-goal first-half deficit by scoring eight of the next nine goals and cruising to a comfortable 12-7 win over St. John’s Catholic Prep in the MIAA C Conference title game.
St. John’s (17-5) entered the game with an undefeated league record and two regular-season wins over Gibbons (13-6).
The Crusader offense was led by David Nesbit’s game-high five goals and an assist. Pat Hathaway also chipped in with three goals and Dave Stark added two goals and an assist.
Goalie Christian Klimczyk keyed the Crusader’s defensive effort with 13 saves. A key to the win was Cardinal Gibbons winning 16 of 23 draws in the game, led by midfielders Ryan Roth and Jason Preston.
St. John’s was led in scoring by Catholic University-bound Tyler Catalini (three goals) and Mike Russo (two goals). Will Grove recorded 10 saves in goal for the Vikings.
Jon Buzby covers Maryland for MaxPreps.com
