By Jon Buzby
MaxPreps.com
Girls Lacrosse: Archbishop Spalding Flies to 4-0
The ladies of Archbishop Spalding started their season with two lopsided wins over IAAM B opponents. The Cavaliers opened with a 16-1 trouncing of Chapelgate Christian and followed that up with a convincing 20-5 win over the Institute of Notre Dame.
“Twelve different players have contributed to the scoring effort which we feel is paramount to longevity in this conference. The coaches and I are getting to know the team's strengths with each game,” head coach Moira Leavitt said.
Junior Danielle Kirk unselfishly dished out 12 assists. Senior captain Katie Kirk (no relation to Danielle) not only leads the team in goals scored (9) after the first two games, but also in ground balls (11). On defense, senior Abby Lynch forced 5 turnovers in the Notre Dame game.
”It was nice to jump out to such a great start. We can't wait to open up league play as the ladies and I feel we are ready to make things happen this year,” Leavitt said.
Their opening league game against the John Carroll School was postponed due to weather but the Cavaliers upped their record to 4-0 with two wins in the Anne Arundel Community College tournament over the weekend (see tournament recap below).
Boys Lacrosse: McDonogh Takes Down Florida Power
The Eagles from McDonogh headed south with a victory under their belt over Episcopal Academy (Pa.) and then upped their record to 2-0 by handing the nationally-ranked Scots of St. Andrews (Fla.) their first loss of the season – after 13 victories – with a 7-5 win in Florida. McDonogh is ranked No. 10 in the Maryland Coaches Association preseason poll.
Princeton-bound goalie, Tyler Fiorito, had 21 saves in the team’s first two games. Fiorito is a returning All-Conference player and considered by many to be the #1 goalie in the nation.
The offense has been led by Tyler Frederick (4 goals, 3 assists) and Brian Hess (4 goals, 1 assist) in the first two wins.
Against the Scots, the Eagles trailed 2-1 after the first quarter but rallied to tie it up at the half (3-3) and led by as many as three before securing the big victory. Frederick had two goals and Hess one in the victory. Curtis Holmes also added two goals and Kyle Rice two assists to help the Eagle offense.
“Our win over St. Andrews was great for our guys. St. Andrews has worked their way into a highly respected position in terms of national competition, and we are proud of our effort. Either team could have pulled out the victory. [St. Andrew’s] Coach Goldberg should be very proud of the body of work that he has spent nearly 2 decades accomplishing,” Eagles coach Scott Corrigan said following the win.
McDonogh capped off its week by defeating St. Mark’s (Texas) 15-7, Gulliver Prep (Fla.) 8-0, Worcester Prep (Mass.) 11-6, and Western Reserve Academy (Ohio) 9-7, running its record to 6-0 heading into the second full week of the season.
Boys Lacrosse: Gilman Overcomes Bus-Lag, Beats Georgetown Prep
Following three tough games and a long bus ride back from North Carolina, the Gilman boys raised their record to 5-0 with a solid 10-7 win over previously unbeaten Georgetown Prep.
Gilman junior attackman Marcus Holman scored twice with three assists to help the Greyhounds overcome a two-goal deficit and take an 8-2 lead into halftime. He leads the team with 15 goals and 11 assists. The Greyhounds are averaging over 13 goals per game.
Next up for Gilman will be back-to-back games against Mullen (2-0) and the Haverford School (3-0). On Saturday, Georgetown Prep lost an 8-7 heartbreaker to Garden City (N.Y.).
Girls Lacrosse: Anne Arundel Tourney
Many of the top girls lacrosse teams in the state gathered for the Fifth Annual Anne Arundel Community College Girls High School Lacrosse Tournament to kick-off the 2008 season.
The tournament, which started with six teams in 2004, now boasts 16 teams competing over two days. Teams played through a mix of rain and sleet on Saturday but skies cleared for Monday’s final games.
“I think the teams that were here feel like they got a lot out of it. They get an opportunity to play and see other teams that they normally would not,” said Jim Griffiths, tournament director and head coach of the Anne Arundel Community College women’s lacrosse, soccer and cross country teams.
Saturday Game Recaps
* Chesapeake (Anne Arundel County) began the tournament with an 8-6 win over Queen Anne’s. Stephanie Miller and Erica Tennison each had three goals to spark the offense, while goalie Ali Meeks recorded 6 saves to lead the Cougar defense. Katie Thompson, Madison Beres and Shannon Wheeler had two goals apiece for the Lions in the closely-contested battle.
* Archbishop Spalding brought a 2-0 record into the tournament and upped it to 3-0 with an 11-8 win over Westminster. Stefanie Paskal had 4 goals and an assist while teammate Katie Kirk added two goals and an assist to lead the Cavaliers’ offense. Goalie Cosette Larash recorded 12 saves to secure the win. Amber Nichols and Alyssa Semone each had two goals in the loss.
“Today was a solid game against a tough opponent in difficult weather conditions [sleet]. I was very pleased with Cosette's job in goal and how well we shared the ball. It was a nice win but I look forward to continued improvement,” head coach Moira Leavitt said.
* Urbana beat Old Mill 10-8 in game three of the tournament. Chelsea Hauswirth scored 4 goals and Nikki Morris had 14 saves for the Hawks. Jordyn Collins scored 4 goals and Maggie Rowdy 3 for the Patriots.
* Jamie Brentlinger exploded for 5 goals and Alyssa Fowler and Randall Winter added 4 each to lead Arundel to a 15-5 thumping of Walkersville. Fowler also tallied 4 assists. Katie Walker and Bryn Gibson both had 2 goals for Walkersville.
* Elizabeth Johnson scored 4 goals and four other players had 1 goal each in CM Wright’s 8-6 win over Annapolis. Cara Canington had 12 saves in goal to preserve the victory for the Mustangs. Ariel Strumpf and Maddie McKaig each had 2 goals for the Panthers, who dropped their first game of the season.
* South River defeated Towson 13-10 as Brooke Griffin scored 5 goals and Devin Dorsey contributed 3 goals and an assist. For Towson, Kara Glazer had 3 goals and Zoe Skinner added 2.
* In the Saturday nightcap, Severna Park opened the game with a 5-1 scoring run and never looked back, topping Severn 14-8. Seniors Hayley Rausch (4G, 1A) and Julie Gardner combined to score 7 goals and Kendall Pittinger finished with 2 goals and 4 assists to lead the Falcons. Alex Priddy scored 3 goals and Josie Owen and Catherine Crowe added two apiece for the Admirals.
"It was just a rush of intensity just knowing we were up, and this is our biggest rival," Rausch told the Capital Gazette. "We just put it all out there. It was really exciting."
Monday Game Recaps
* Queen Anne’s started off the second day of the event by evening their tournament record to 1-1 with an 11-10 squeaker over Old Mill. Enna Saffos had 4 goals for the Lions while Emily Hudgins scored 3 for the Patriots, as they dropped their second game of the tournament.
* Elizabeth Johnson exploded for 5 goals and Tayler Kuzma added 3, as CM Wright defeated Arundel 13-8 to run its record to 2-0 in the tournament. Alyssa Fowler and Jamie Brentlinger each had 3 goals for Arundel. Goalie Cara Canington had 14 saves for the Mustangs.
* The noon game saw Archbishop Spalding jump out to an 8-3 halftime margin and then run its record to 4-0 on the season with a 12-4 win over Fallston. Katie Kirk joined teammates Danielle Kirk and Kara Johnson with 3 goals each as the Cavaliers handed Fallston their second loss in the tournament. Goalie Cosette Larash had 9 saves to lead the Cavaliers’ stellar defensive effort. Roxie Raab had 2 goals for Fallston.
* Walkersville and Chesapeake played to a 13-13 tie (no overtime is played in the tournament). Kristen Snyder had 4 goals and 2 assists and Abbey Lucke added 3 goals for Walkersville. Amber Shiflett had 5 goals and Stephanie Miller chipped in with 4 for the Cougars.
* Annapolis overcame a one-goal halftime deficit to tie Urbana 7-7. Jordyn Collins and Kelsey Heine had three goals apiece for Urbana. Maddie McKaig and Liz Melesh each had two goals for the Panthers.
* South River upped its record to 2-0 edging Westminster 10-9. Brooke Griffin had three goals and an assist and Stephanie Peterson and Ali Mattingly added two apiece to lead South River. For Westminster, Alyssa Semone tallied five goals and an assist and Ashleigh Rohrback had three goals and two assists. South River’s goalie, Kim Kolarik recorded 7 saves while Westminster’s Lindsay Nichols turned away 6 shots.
* Severn held onto a 6-4 halftime lead in defeating Broadneck 14-8. Josie Owen poured in 5 goals and Alex Priddy added three to lead the Admirals and square their tournament record at 1-1. Karri-Ellen Johnson had 4 goals and an assist and Shannon Hanratty two goals for Broadneck.
* Towson and Severna Park squared off in the tournament finale. The game was over early as the Falcons soared to a 10-2 halftime lead and cruised to a 20-4 victory behind 4 goals apiece by Julie Gardner, Hayley Rausch and Allison Behringer. Towson goalie Grace Bojanowski recorded 8 saves in the loss.
Players of the Week
McDonogh senior goalie Tyler Fiorito had 14 saves in a 7-5 win against previously-unbeaten and nationally-ranked St. Andrews (Fla.). Fiorito followed that performance with 9 saves in a 15-7 win over St. Mark’s (Texas), allowing just 3 goals over the first 3 quarters. He ended his week by pitching a shutout (8 saves) against Gulliver Prep (Fla.) in an 8-0 rout to bring the Eagles’ record to 4-0.
Fiorito is considered by many to be the top goalie in the country and has already committed to play at Princeton next year.
“He is an incredible leader and an even better person,” coach Scott Corrigan said of his two-year captain.
Archbishop Spalding senior-captain Katie Kirk scored 9 goals in her team’s first two games early last week. She piled on 5 more this past weekend at the Anne Arundel Community College Tournament to bring her season total to 14. She has also tallied 3 assists, 10 draw controls, and leads the team with 22 groundballs won. The Cavaliers are off to a 4-0 start in large part thanks to Katie’s offensive contributions.
“Katie is a joy to coach,” Archbishop Spalding coach Moira Leavitt said. “She not only makes the big plays but handles all the little things. She is the consummate team player.”
Send your player of the week nominations to JonBuzby@hotmail.com.
