Archbishop Curley wins its third straight MIAA B lacrosse championship

by James Peters

The third time was not just a charm for the Archbishop Curley boys lacrosse but more like a precious gem.

After dropping a pair of regular season matches against top-seeded Saints Peter & Paul, the second-seeded Friars erupted for the first five goals of the match en route to a commanding 10-goal halftime advantage and finally a comfortable 18-9 victory for the program’s third straight MIAA B Conference lacrosse title Friday at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium.

“Being here for the past three years, I feel like we know how to play under pressure, and it’s kind of new to them,” said Curley senior midfielder James Zingo, who earned Most Valuable Player honors with four goals and a handful of face-off victories. “We really succeed under the pressure and the first two games, I think they were a fluke to be quite honest. We really came through this time; that’s all that matters. 

“I think they definitely folded under pressure. I don’t think they reacted to (the championship pressure), but best of luck to them next year. I wish them all the best.”

Speaking of the best, the Friars (12-7) proved why they are the class of the B Conference with a masterful first half that produced leads of 6-1 after 12 minutes of action and a 13-3 advantage heading into intermission, including back-to-back goals by Carson Gianelli in the first minute of the match.

“We lost to them twice already this year, and there was a fire in us all week,” said Gianelli, who produced three goals and two assists in the win. “We came firing from the start. The energy was always high and then we just continued that throughout the entire game.

“It’s amazing. I remember freshman year not going our way, but the program has come a long way from that. Three in a row means a hell of a lot to this program.”

Gianelli was one of 10 Friars to record either a goal or an assist in the match, including three goals each from Brandon Mejia, Matt Ramirez, and Gavin Albright. Dominic Broadwater added three assists and a goal, Jack Wojciehowski produced two assists, and Cooper Granados contributed a goal and an assist.

While the Curley offense started hot to build those large leads before cooling during a five-goal second half, the Sabres (15-5) could never unlock the Friars’ defense, especially through the first 12 minutes. Saints Peter & Paul was also plagued by numerous unforced errors on offensive passes around the crease or on clears from the defense, leading to some easier scoring opportunities for Curley.

“I think the main thing that happened in the first half was we overcomplicated (things) and beat ourselves,” said Sabres sophomore attackman Liam Durnbaugh, who paced his squad with three goals and an assist. “I think from an offensive perspective, we didn’t do what we needed to do to get open. Ultimately, it came down to us beating ourselves at the end of the day. They always said it’s hard to beat a team three times.”

Curley coach Chris Ogle switched up his team’s defensive strategy from those first two meetings that the Sabres won 9-6 and 11-9. That unit only surrendered a deflected goal in the first quarter and held Saints Peter & Paul scoreless for more than 10 minutes in the second quarter.

“We had a plan coming in that we hadn’t shown all year, and we were confident in it,” Ogle said. “The boys executed it to perfection for most of the game, and I think that gave us an advantage there. We shut 23 (Jacob) Rardin off all game and we were sliding a little earlier to (Durnbaush) and (Rardin) if he got the ball. We just wanted to force other guys to beat us... and not their main guys.”

Besides Durnbaush, the Sabres received three goals from Grant Messick and two goals and an assist from Noah Zimmerman.