Boys Lacrosse: Offensively Potent Towson Pulls Away from Pikesville

Towson seniors Ian McDonald and Stefan Holmes combined for eight goals as the visiting Generals beat Pikesville, 16-7, Thursday, May 5.

McDonald, a senior attackman, scored three of his four goals during the first half as Towson (6-5) established a 6-2 lead by the end of the first quarter and a 9-4 advantage by halftime.

Including McDonald and Holmes, nine different Towson players tallied at least one goal against the Panthers.

“Playoffs are right around the corner so we know we’ve got to step it up, and I think everyone did that [against Pikesville],” Generals coach Matt Clifford said. “We tried some new things on face-offs, and they worked, and we possessed the ball on offense, and that made all the difference.”

Freshman Jory Parson recorded a team-high four goals for Pikesville, with Kevin Saval adding two more, but the Panthers (4-10) were unable to keep up with what Pikesville coach Craig Campbell described as an athletic Towson squad that “got on the ground balls, got some open looks and finished their shots.”

Including the loss to Towson, the Panthers have dropped 10 of their last 12 games, but Campbell is optimistic Pikesville can turn things around in the playoffs and possibly still make a run in the Class 2A-1A North region.

The Panthers, who have won three state titles since 2001, have reached the Class 2A-1A North championship game seven straight years under Campbell.

“We’ve got a week to practice now,” Campbell said. “We have a lot of things to work on, obviously, and just need to make sure we’re all working together as a team so we can make a little run.”

And like Campbell, Clifford also has his sights set on the playoffs, and hopes to build on Thursday’s win against Pikesville.

The Generals were eliminated by Hereford in last season's Class 3A-2A quarterfinals but have won two regional championships since 2004. And Clifford is hopeful, even despite some inconsistency during the season, that the Generals can add a third this year. “We’ve got the talent but just have to believe in ourselves and bring it, which is what we’re working on every day,” said Clifford.

He added, “We’ve been up and down, and we’ve got a lot of work to do before our first playoff game, but this game was definitely a good motivator.”