Boys’ Latin Edges McDonogh to Gain Berth In A Conference Lacrosse Semis

For Boys’ Latin senior Wells Stanwick, it was “just keep truckin’ and you’re going to end up on top.”

And a step in that direction was realized on Friday when teammate Greg Pyke caught a feed from Taylor Stothoff, took a couple of steps toward the McDonogh crease, then popped the ball over goalie Ben Falcone’s shoulder to score the winning goal in a tense, 8-7 lacrosse road win for the Lakers.

The win propels BL into the A conference semi-finals of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association against rival Gilman, a team that has edged Boys’ Latin twice this season.

“We’re still alive, which is very gratifying the way this season has been going,” said Boys’ Latin coach Bob Shriver, referencing the team’s seven losses – four of them by one goal, including two in overtime.

Pyke’s score with 5:18 left to play was the ultimate difference in the game but a Colin Heacock goal in the closing seconds of the third quarter was the one that really got things rolling for the Lakers.

After falling behind by two goals right as the first quarter ended, BL scored the first three goals of the second quarter to grab a 4-3 lead.  Yet the Eagles fought back with two of their own to take a 5-4 lead to the half, then scored another tally just six seconds into the third quarter.

For the balance of the quarter, the Laker offense was stymied by a stingy McDonogh defense that packed players around the goal.  Several offensive drives were repelled by the Eagles, with BL hardly getting a good look at the goal.

Then, with less than a minute to play in the quarter, Stanwick fired a ball from left behind to Heacock who was open in the center from about 20 yards.  Instead of trying yet another forward drive, the sophomore attackman unleashed a low line drive that found the net and narrowed the margin back to one.

The Lakers then tied the game at 6-all 24 seconds into the fourth quarter when Michael Lynch bounced one past Falcone from 12 yards out.

Stanwick, who had four assists in the game, gave the Lakers a 7-6 lead when he scored his lone goal after charging toward the crease from the left side at the 7:38 mark.

The Eagles knotted the game less than a minute later when Austin Frederick won a fierce one-on-one battle against Stothoff and beat Laker goalie Adam Davey from the right crease.

After Pyke netted the game winner, McDonogh had one more chance yet that was thwarted by Davey, who stopped a shot from Brady Faby.  Davey, who was upfield on a clear effort, had to scramble back to the net after BL lost control of the ball.  He had just enough time to set himself before Faby took his shot at the 4:22 mark.

It was the second significant save of the quarter for Davey, who – with his team down a man due to a slash at 11:11 – charged an Eagle attacker open on the crease and deflected the shot with his stick.

After Davey’s save of the Faby shot, BL gained control of the ball, drained second after second off the game clock and never gave the Eagles another good chance to score.  Shriver called a time out at the 1:01 mark to settle his team and give them a breather. The Lakers were then assisted in the final minute by two McDonogh penalties, one a hold with 48 seconds left, the other a push with 36 ticks on the clock. 

In addition to Stanwick’s goal and four assists, Heacock scored twice for BL, with Stothoff, Pyke, Stephen Luck, Michael Lynch and Shack Stanwick each scoring once.

Connor Morgan paced the Eagles with three goals, Single goals were scored by Faby, Frederick, Brinton Valis and Evan Glaser.

“It’s a competitive league,” Shriver said after the game.  “I think in my heart of heart there are seven good teams in the league this year and it is bearing itself out – look at the closeness of the games.  It’s pretty amazing, really.”

The coach noted his team’s play against Keegan Michel and Brenny Daley, who were held to a total of three assists.

“Michel is an exception player – they’re both really good players and we did a great job on both those guys.”

Stanwick was aware that this could have been the last game of his high school career.

“All the seniors on our team knew we had to keep it going and we were going to give everything we could to keep it going,” he said.  “And all the young guys knew they had to give everything they could to keep it going for us seniors.”

Boys’ Latin (11-7) and Gilman (11-5) will face off under the lights on Tuesday in the Johnny Unitas Stadium at Towson University, beginning at 8:30 p.m.  St. Paul’s School and Calvert Hall will play the other semi-final, scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m.