Boys' Latin and McDonogh earn hard-fought MIAA A lax semifinal victories

by Derek Toney

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND - Their rivalry has defined the ultra-competitive Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference for more than a decade.

Their next meeting will be the biggest.

Boys’ Latin and McDonogh will play for the title in arguably the nation’s premier boys high school lacrosse league after surviving semifinal matches Tuesday evening at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Defending champ McDonogh rallied past Archbishop Spalding, 10-9, in the nightcap, while top-seeded Boys’ Latin turned away Gilman, 13-9.

“It’s just so special, the opportunity to be here and play in the best conference in the country,” said Lakers junior attack Matt Higgins. “We’ve been looking forward to May 17th, and now we got to capitalize and win on Friday.”

“It’s cliche but we want to have the next one up mentality,” said Eagles coach Andy Hilgartner. “The next one up is for it all and we can’t wait.”

McDonogh needed another second half comeback to keep its bid at history intact. Ben Firlie and Notre Dame University-bound attack Luke Miller each finished with two goals and an assist for the third-seeded Eagles (14-3 overall).

Firlie, a senior midfielder headed to Georgetown, started the rebirth with back-to-back unassisted tallies in the latter stages of the first half as McDonogh, down 6-3, claimed a 9-7 advantage entering the final quarter.

“A bunch of captains were in the huddle when we were down 6-4 and Hilgy (Hilgartner) came in and said we were going to win this game and no one disagreed…we had the resilience,” said Firlie. “We definitely kept it cool under pressure.”

Especially the Eagles’ defense in the second half. After a taut ride from Finn Alexander created a turnover, Hunter Metz got an outlet from Max Allen and went uncontested to the goal for a score, giving McDonogh its first lead, 8-7, late in the third quarter.

Down a man, the Eagles got an easy stop from junior goalie Aidan Seibel, preserving the 10-9 advantage with less than four minutes left in regulation.. Seibel (8 saves) stopped another Spalding attempt with 1:39 to play.

The Cavaliers, who defeated McDonogh during the regular season, got possession with 22.4 seconds left and called timeout with nine seconds remaining. But Spalding, the No. 2 seed, wasn’t able to get a clean shot off before the buzzer.

Friday, the Eagles scored twice in the final 25 seconds of regulation to force overtime against Loyola Blakefield in the quarterfinals. McDonogh scored with 17 seconds left in the second extra session for a 7-6 victory.

Seibel, who rebounded from a rocky first half, including a Spalding pass getting by him, said the Eagles, no matter the circumstances, stayed resolute.

“It’s the belief in every guy…it’s the belief from me to the offensive guys to Ciaran Sweeney on the X,” said Seibel, who had five second half stops. “When we were down to Loyola we just trusted each other and we knew we’re going to come back and get to this spot.”

Senior midfielder Connor Wilbur had three goals and two assists for Spalding (14-5), and Gordon Bennett added a hat trick with an assist. The Cavaliers, who reached the 2021 MIAA A final, rebounded this spring after a 4-11 campaign last year.

Spalding, which got by McDonogh, 10-9, last month, was ready to end the Eagles’ title reign when Joey Matassa flicked a pass towards the goal and the ball got by Seibel with 5:54 left in the second.

The Cavaliers did not score again until 7:57 left in regulation.

“Lacrosse is just a game of runs. They won some faceoffs, they had some great shots and we knew that was going to happen,” said Spalding first-year coach Evan Hockel. “I’m just proud of the way we fought.”

After handling Gilman during the regular season, Boys’ Latin was unable to shake the tenacious Greyhounds in the opening semifinal. The Lakers found their bearings in the final period to advance to the final for the first time since claiming the crown in 2021.

George Insley scored four goals for Boys’ Latin (14-2), and Higgins finished with two goals and two assists.

Insley, a senior midfielder headed to Richmond in the fall, scored all four goals in the second half, including an unassisted score with 72 seconds left in the third quarter for a 10-9 Laker advantage. Insley opened the fourth quarter scoring with another unassisted tally as Boys’ Latin accounted for the final five goals of regulation.

“We talked about keep jabbing, you keep jabbing and in the fourth quarter, everything opens up and that’s what they did,” said Lakers coach Brian Farrell. “We relied on our depth a little bit and got play from our seniors in the middle of the field. We did well possessing the ball and making them put the ball on the ground.”

Up two goals on four occasions Tuesday, Boys’ Latin trailed, 9-8, after Gilman’s Jay Rodgers scored off a rebound with 3:59 left in the third quarter. The Lakers answered less than 45 seconds later with a Higgins unassisted score.

Enter Insley, who followed a turnover from Boys’ Latin’s defense with the eventual game-winning score.

Insley, one of 20 seniors, said the Lakers’ goal this spring has been returning to the championship stage after semifinal heartbreak the previous two springs.

“We’ve been focusing on our teamwork and chemistry all year,” said Insley. “We just want May 17th.”

Three weeks ago, the Lakers defeated Gilman, 13-6. Boys’ Latin had a 2-0 advantage inside the first 90 seconds Tuesday along with leads of 4-2, 5-3, 6-4 and 8-6.

It didn’t matter to Gilman (12-7), making its first semifinal appearance since 2014. Jay Wilkerson and juniors Griffin Graham and Rodgers each scored two goals.

Greyhounds coach Tony Incontrera commended his senior class for leading Gilman, the fifth-seed, back to relevance in the MIAA A.

“They expected to win every game, they expected to win this game today,” said Incontrera. “We ran into a team that was hitting on all cylinders…they won more possessions than we did and that’s the name of the game. They’re going to get opportunities and they’re good enough and going to convert their chances.”

For the 13th time in the last 14 full seasons (no season in 2020 due COVID-19), Boys’ Latin and McDonogh will meet in the MIAA A postseason. Last year, the Eagles won 8-7 in overtime in a semifinal at Navy.

In 2022, McDonogh rallied for a 11-10 semifinal decision, scoring the game-winner as the final horn sounded.

The Eagles won, 12-10, during the regular season. McDonogh will try to become the second team (Calvert Hall, 2017-2019) to win three straight MIAA A championships.

The latest chapter Friday is poised to be one for the ages.

“This is super important…those are two heartbreaks we went through,” said Higgins. “The past year, we’ve been looking forward to May 17th and now we’re there and now we got to win one more.”

“It’s going to take a lot of preparation to get ready for these guys and give a good showing,” said Allen, a senior longstick defender, “but there’s no other group I rather have on my side and go to war with on Friday. I trust everyone on this team, in this program…they’re going to do whatever it takes to get another W.”