No. 8 St. Paul’s lacrosse hands No. 5 Gilman first MIAA A loss

NATIONAL SUMMARY

Rain and thunderstorms will continue to soak the Southeast from Louisiana to North Carolina today as a storm travels along the Gulf coast. Farther south, much of the Florida Peninsula will remain dry, with only an afternoon thunderstorm in spots. Farther north, dry weather will return to the Northeast. On the other side of the nation, there can be rain and higher-elevation snow showers across Washington as well as the northern Rockies as a quick-moving storm travels across the region. A zone of high pressure will remain over the Southwest, promoting dry and very warm weather across this region. Temperatures can trend 5-15 degrees above the historical average. The warmer air will spread into the Midwest, where temperatures can be as much as 10 degrees higher than previous days.

Double-teamed and falling to the ground with the shot clock ticking down Saturday, St. Paul’s junior attackman Jack Iannantuono somehow made a play.

His goal, coming with 32 seconds left to play, was the finest in a game that had a bunch of them. It provided the No. 8 Crusaders with the first two-goal advantage for either team in the second half and turned out to be the final goal as St. Paul’s claimed a 17-15 win over the No. 5 Greyhounds in Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference play.

Iannantuono finished with five goals and two assists while fellow junior attackman Luke Bair scored six times and added an assist as St. Paul’s (8-4) improved to 3-2 in conference play. An overflow crowd during Gilman’s alumni weekend saw a great game that ended with a disappointing outcome for the home team, which fell to 11-3 overall and lost its first conference game to drop to 4-1.

Down one with 3:34 to play, the Crusaders got the tying goal from Ryan Viscarrondo and then the go-ahead goal from Grady O’Day with 2:16 left. Iannantuono’s effort proved a microcosm of the visitors’ play in those final minutes.

“It was a great atmosphere and Gilman is a great team, so we knew we had to come ready to play,” Iannantuono said. “I think it was just grit and trusting ourselves and going to the rack.”

As for his insurance goal: “They were coming to double-team me and I just knew I had to go. I got down but just kept it up.”

The Crusaders let it be known early they were determined to ruin the Greyhounds’ special day. They took a 3-1 lead in the first quarter and went up 6-3 on Viscarrondo’s first goal with 8:21 to play in the second.

But the Greyhounds, behind a five-goal performance from senior Jay Wilkerson, scored five straight goals to take an 8-6 lead with 1:51 remaining in the half. Iannantuono scored a vital goal with five seconds left before halftime to cut the lead to 8-7, and the game remained tight the rest of the way.

The score was tied eight times in the second half.

Sebastian Chaney scored his second goal of the fourth quarter to give the Greyhounds their last lead of the game, 15-14, with 4:56 left.

The Crusaders finished with the day’s biggest and final string of goals. Viscarrondo finished with three goals, O’Day had two goals and one assist and goalie Gordie Smith made eight saves.

It’s a win the Crusaders can build on.

“We had a full week to get ready for them and had some tough practices, some gritty practices,” St. Paul’s coach Steve Settembrino said. “And we told the guys how much everyone believes in them and how they need to believe in themselves. I think today showed how gritty, how tough and just how much they want it.”

OTHER BOYS LACROSSE SCORES: McDonogh 16, Loyola Blakefield 6:

McDonogh needed Friday. The two-time defending Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champions, in the midst of a rare two-game slide, brought urgent energy, precise execution and a collective performance in celebrating a 16-6 home win over No. 9 Loyola Blakefield.

After the game, the No. 3 Eagles weren’t overly ecstatic with the important outcome, but they enjoyed a sense that order has been restored.

“We hit the complete reset button this week in practice, especially after Tuesday [a 10-9 loss to No. 7 Archbishop Spalding], and we just got refocused,” said senior captain Luke Miller, who led the attack with four goals and one assist. “We went over our team values and really dominated practice and came in with the intention of dominating today. I think we did that and executed that to perfection.”

In improving to 8-3 overall and 4-2 in league play, the Eagles also got two goals and two assists from Bogue Hahn and Eli Schaller, strong play in the circle from faceoff specialist Ciaran Sweeney and smothering work from defenseman Max Allen.

— Glenn Graham

Chesapeake-AA 17, Meade 1 Broadneck 10, Crofton 4 Annapolis 7, Northeast 6 Saints Peter & Paul 19, Indian Creek 7

Glenelg 12, Centennial 5 Boys’ Latin 9, St. Mary’s 5 Archbishop Spalding 16, John Carroll 9

Girls lacrosse Spalding14,SevernaPark11:

Severna Park had a seemingly unshakable advantage through most of the third quarter. But Archbishop Spalding had Gabby Greene.

The Florida-committed midfielder had spotlights pinned on her from the moment she stepped onto Love Field, and every time her team needed a goal, she was back on center stage. When the Falcons built a four-goal lead more than halfway into the third quarter, and seemed to be pressing the brink of running away with it, Greene took over.

With a hat trick already in the bank, Greene haunted the Severna Park cage to score four straight to flip the lead into Spalding’s hands. And even when victory seemed assured, Greene lashed in one more for good measure, cementing the 14-11 final.

The win for No. 4 Spalding (9-3) tarnished the No. 5 Falcons’ unbeaten record (8-1) and — as far as Spalding coach Tara Shea is concerned — solidified the Cavaliers’ top standing in the county.

And, for the record, it might as well establish Greene’s standing, too.

“I think this is one of the best players that’s ever competed at this school,” Shea said, “if not one of the best players in Anne Arundel County for sure.”

— Katherine Fominykh

Marriotts Ridge trailed Howard by two late in the first half. A shot by the Lions to go up three went wide, and the Mustangs quickly countered. Rachel Harper scored her second goal of the game to bring Marriotts Ridge within one and give the Mustangskey momentum entering the second half.

At halftime, coach Amanda Brady emphasized the importance of patience. She felt her Mustangs were forcing things in the first half, not waiting for the right opportunities. However, Marriotts Ridge maximized its second-half possessions. The No. 13 Mustangs outscored the Lions by three in the final two quarters, closing out an 11-9 win on senior night.

In a game tied at 8 in the fourth quarter, the intensity increased with each possession. With Howard face-guarding several Mustangs attackers, space opened

Marriotts Ridge 11, Howard 9:

up. Sophomore Bella Boats, one of the Mustangs’ fastest players, took advantage. She drew a foul and ripped an 8-meter opportunity through the legs of Lions goalie Emma Antill to take a 9-8 lead. Chrish Vaxmonsky and Boats added goals, pushing the Mustangs’ lead to three with 3:44 remaining.

Gerstell 16, Concordia Prep 4 Long Reach 15, Hammond 1 Annapolis 19, Northeast 4 Arundel 11, North County 7 Chesapeake-AA 16, Meade 1 South River 14, Southern 4 John Carroll 10, Glenelg Country 5

Softball Northeast-AA 9, Severna Park 2:

Maddison Burris knows when its her time to hit. She also knows when its her time to run. Burris’ fifth inning line drive up the middle led to an inside-the-park home run, breaking up a tight game and leading third-ranked Northeast softball to a 9-2 win over Severna Park. Burris’ homer was the only extrabase hit on the night for either team.

— Mike Frainie,

For Baltimore Sun Media

Towson 15, Perry Hall 3 Western Tech 15, Dundalk 5 Carver A&T 12, Catonsville 3 FrancisScottKey14,WintersMill3 South Carroll 8, Westminster 5 Liberty 10, Manchester Valley 0 Elkton 8, Havre de Grace 7 Patterson Mill 12, Bel Air 6

John Carroll 7, Broadneck 6 Reservoir 21, Long Reach 16 Centennial 21, Hammond 5 Wilde Lake 13, Oakland Mills 4 Mt. Hebron 22, Atholton 4 Southern 7, Glen Burnie 2

Baseball

Towson 5, Hereford 3: For the first four-plus innings of Friday’s game against host Towson, Hereford starting pitcher Jack Kinsey performed his version of Harry Houdini, working out of trouble time and again just like the famed magician escaped one trunk after another.

Kinsey’s luck, however, ran out in the fifth as a hit batter, a walk and a costly error on what could have been an inning-ending double play let the

Generals tie the game. Towson (8-1) ended up scoring five runs in the inning en route to a 5-3 victory.

In that pivotal fifth inning, Hereford brought in relief pitcher Gavin Jacker, but Mitchell Toung worked a bases-loaded walk to bring home a runandgivetheGeneralsa2-1advantage. Nate Berkowitz drove in two on ascorchingdoubletoleft-centerfield. Two batters later, Dickens plated a run on an infield single deep in the holeatshortstopforthefour-runlead.

— James Peters,

For Baltimore Sun Media

Spalding 7, Gilman 1: On a cold, wet Friday night at Pachence Field, the Archbishop Spalding pitching staff brought the heat. Thanks in part to a dominant 12-strikeout performance on the mound from Nathan Wines, the Cavaliers earned a 7-1 win over Gilman. The win is the 10th straight for Spalding (14-2), while Gilman fell to 7-12. The Greyhounds struck first in the top of the first inning. Jute Taylorhammeredafastballdeepinto center field that turned into a triple. Wyatt Randolph did not waste the opportunity, singling home Taylor to give Gilman the early 1-0 lead. But that would be the extent of the Greyhounds’ offense.

Winessettledin,mixingavarietyof offspeedpitcheswithablisteringfastball to slow down the Greyhounds’ hitters. Even when he faced a jam, the East Carolina commit worked his way out of it by delivering clutch pitches in key moments. After falling behind, the Cavaliers’ offense came right back, pulling ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the first. After a Gilman errorsetthetable,DrewEmrichlined a single to center field, scoring Cruz Luna and Theo Loughlin.

— Sean Maslin,

For Baltimore Sun Media

Harford Tech 12, Edgewood 1 C. Milton Wright 7, North Harford 3

Manchester Valley 9, Liberty 0 Westminster 6, South Carroll 4 Francis Scott Key 8, Winters Mill 3

Chesapeake-AA 16, Meade 1 Broadneck 3, South River 0 Glen Burnie 6 Southern 0

St. Mary’s 8, City 3

Glenelg Country 1, Boys’ Latin 0 Reservoir 5, Long Reach 1 Howard 8, Glenelg 3