Boys Lacrosse: Strong Fourth Quarter Sparks Catonsville Past Franklin

After 11 goals combined in the first two periods of Wednesday night’s rain-soaked and fog-filled match between Catonsville and Franklin, the scoring onslaught came to a grinding halt following the halftime break.  

However with the score tied 6-6 and just over four minutes remaining in the fourth and final period, the Comets finally put their foot on the gas pedal.

Back-to-back goals from junior Arthur Schorr put Catonsville ahead for the first time since the beginning of the second period and the Comets went on to firmly shut the door, scoring two more goals in the final two minutes to capture their first victory of the season, 10-7, over visiting Franklin.  

“Once a team gets on a roll you seem to keep it going, and that’s what happened to us in the second half,” Comets head coach Aaron Stubbs said following the game.  “I just think we took better care of the ball, didn’t throw the ball away as often as we had. We just made the shots count. We made the goalie make the save—or we were scoring.”  

Schorr was one of three Catonsville (1-1) players to finish with a hat trick as sophomore Drew Carlson and junior Colin Miller tallied three goals, as well.  

In addition to his trio of scores, Carlson added arguably the games' most dazzling assist, at unarguably the games most key moment, to take that 7-6 lead.

Carlson received a feed just to the right of the goal from senior Sean Urban and had a decent look at the net but instead quickly passed across the crease to Schorr—while absorbing the contact from a Franklin defenseman—to provide his attacker with an even more quality attempt on goal.   

“We had a freshman get injured on Monday and [Carlson], our left-hander stepped in and performed great, he really did,” Stubbs said. “He really manned up today and I think he was difference in the game. I really do.”

The Indians (0-2) shook off a slow start and snatched the lead by pumping in four goals in the second quarter—including two strikes from long distance by junior Sterling Hardy—but couldn’t keep that momentum going into the second half and were blanked in the final two periods before junior Andrew Walker’s goal as time expired.    

After connecting on six of its 16 shots in the first half, Franklin struggled to gain premium opportunities following the break—despite winning all 16 face-offs.

“We’re making a lot of mistakes in terms of our shot selection and we are having a problem identifying defenses, but other than that I think we played up to our potential,” Franklin head coach Scot Laudeman said.

“We are winning all the face-offs and it’s very hard to lose games when you win face-offs, but when you throw the ball out of bounds unpressed a lot, that’s what happens.”

One of the bright spots for Laudeman’s raw squad—who he said plans on taking “baby steps” over the course of the year—was senior goalie Tucker Lutz who tallied 13 saves, including 10 in the second half. 

While the Indians are still in search of their first victory, Stubbs and the Comets are happy to put their first mark in the win column.

“It takes a little bit of the pressure off,” Stubbs said, adding that this win is more significant than their non-division loss to Centennial. “This one really counted. It was good to get a ‘W’ on the board.”  

BOX SCORE

Catonsville 10, Franklin 7

C 2 3 1 4 --- 10

F 2 4 0 1 --- 7

Goals: (C) Carlson 3, Schorr 3, Miller 3, Tyler Westphal; (F) Hardy 2, Walker 2, Tyler Silcott, Alex Clements, Ben Kaestner.

Assists:  (C) Carlson, Urban, Timothy Burk, Greg Abendschoen.

Saves: (C) John Reymann 15; (F) Lutz 13.