Both teams knew going in that the loser of Thursday afternoon’s boys lacrosse game between St. Mary’s and Calvert Hall wouldn’t be eliminated from the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference playoffs. But both teams also knew that the winner would earn a very valuable first-round bye.
Both teams battled as if it was a “loser go home” situation, and it wasn’t until the Saints coach’s son, John Hogan, scored with 2:39 left in overtime that St. Mary’s came away with a hard-fought 12-11 win over rival Calvert Hall, earning the first-round bye.
“It was important for us to get the win, and more than anything else I was happy for our team to be in such a competitive game and have them maintain their composure, when it would have been easy to do so,” Saints coach Matt Hogan said. “Having a bye is a big deal this time of year to get some rest and not have to play two games within 48 hours of each other.”
Calvert Hall fought back from a seven-goal deficit, tying the game on a Tony Rossi goal with just over 40 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime, setting the stage for Hogan’s game-winning goal.
“I am proud of [my son] John regardless if he scores any goals, let alone a goal to win a game in overtime,” Hogan said. “I was happy for him due to the extra time he puts in to be a good lacrosse player. Endless hours on the wall in the backyard paid off for him.”
Scott Hopmann led St. Mary’s with four goals, and Nick Doub added three.
Patrick Fanshaw, recently named an Under Armour All-American, led Calvert Hall with four goals.
With virtually nothing at stake, St. Mary’s (15-1, 9-1) closed out its regular season on Saturday with a 14-4 win over Severn. The Saints finished tied for first with Gilman (13-1, 9-1) in the conference standings, but the Greyhounds received the top seed in the tournament as a result of the head-to-head tiebreaker. Gilman handed the Saints their only loss of the season, 12-11. Gilman’s only conference loss was against Boys’ Latin, 13-12.
MIAA A Conference quarterfinals set
No. 3-seed Calvert Hall (12-3, 8-2) will host St. Paul’s (13-6, 5-5) on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
No. 4-seed Boys’ Latin (14-3, 7-3) will host Loyola-Blakefield (10-6, 6-4) on Tuesday at 4:15 p.m.
The semifinals will take place on Thursday at Towson University. Gilman will play against the lowest remaining seed at 5 p.m., while St. Mary’s will face the other remaining team in the 7 p.m. game.
The championship game will be played at Towson University on Wednesday, May 20. Game time to be announced.
IAAM Girls Lacrosse Quarterfinals Schedule