St. Mary’s lacrosse continues hot streak, beats Calvert Hall and Gilman during playoff push
by Nelson Coffin
Junior attackman Conor Gale’s goal with just 13 seconds remaining in overtime propelled St. Mary’s (9-4, 5-2 league) to its third straight MIAA A Conference victory while ending Calvert Hall’s five-game winning streak.
There were numerous heroes in the 8-7 triumph, including junior James Brimhall, whose third goal of the game knotted the score for the Saints with less than a minute left in regulation. Sophomore goalie Brody Fuller and his stingy defensive mates also deserve immense credit for holding the defending champs well below the 13.6 goals-per-game they were averaging against A Conference foes.
Junior Hut Perdew and his sophomore fellow attackman Caleb Kelly had given the Cardinals a 7-6 lead late in the fourth quarter before the Saints rallied to garner a key road win and bolster their playoff chances.
St. Mary’s followed that win with another road victory, downing Gilman, 10-9, while Calvert Hall (8-3, 6-1) responded by beating last year’s championship game opponent, Archbishop Spalding, 13-8.
The Cardinals rallied from an early 2-1 deficit on goals by junior midfielder Cade Marechek, Kelly and sophomore midfielder Banks Enrique to build a 4-2 lead before seniors Cooper Johnson and Brady Mollot would tie it for the Cavaliers (6-5, 5-2) late in the opening period.
Perdew, senior attackman Jack Williams, sophomore midfielders Connor Sullivan and Adam Heuston and junior midfielder Matt Schoonmake fueled a 5-0 second-quarter run for the Cardinals.
The Cavaliers came into the game after winning a tight defensive battle against Boys’ Latin, 8-5. Spalding snapped a 3-3 third-quarter tie on a three-goal splurge by senior Brody Moss and Mollot, the same duo who produced a 2-1 advantage early in the contest after junior William Kelly opened the proceedings with a goal for the Lakers.
Kelly also tied the score early in the second half before the Cavaliers pulled away. A pair of fourth-quarter BL goals made it close until junior Colby Evans answered twice in Spalding’s 3-0 closing run that extended the Lakers’ losing streak to four.
The Lakers (5-8, 2-5) were also denied in overtime by Severn, 9-8, falling on attackman Kevin Gattie’s goal on a nice look from fellow senior Gavin Gerger. Sam Long’s clutch goal with just over a minute in regulation was a key moment in the contest for the Admirals (10-3, 5-2).
Junior Luca Ball’s 10-yard rocket with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation broke a 7-7 standoff between Loyola Blakefield and Mount St. Joseph (9-7, 2-6), and the Dons (8-5, 7-1) held on for a thrilling 9-8 victory. They would fare even better against St. Paul’s (3-8, 2-5), beating the Crusaders, 12-4, to move a half-game ahead of Calvert Hall in the A Conference standings.