Cardinals pick right up again
After a year’s break from league play, Calvert Hall wins
A fair amount of curiosity came with Tuesday’s Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference lacrosse season opener at Calvert Hall, with the Cardinals hosting Gilman after a one-year break from league play.
True to form, the rivals did their part in representing what is considered the country’s finest high school lacrosse league.
The Cardinals — who have won the past three league titles, with the last coming in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 season — picked up right where they left off with a 10-9 win over the Greyhounds.
An impressive three-goal rally from Gilman cut the lead to one and the visitors had possession in the final minute, but the Calvert Hall defense rose to the occasion when junior defenseman Luke McAuliffe deflected Chase Brody’s shot with 14 seconds left and scooped up the ground ball to run out the clock.
Sophomore Shuey Kelly (three goals, two assists) and Ethan Long (three goals, one assist) carried the offense, Jordan Wray scored with 6:55 to play to provide a 10-6 advantage and the defense responded favorably in the closing minute to give Calvert Hall a 1-0 start to the season.
Gilman (0-1) got three goals and an assist from Brody, three goals from Charlie Pope and a 12-save performance from goalie Kyle Morris to provide the Cardinals with a formidable test.
“These guys missed the 2020 team and how to handle something like this, so this is all new. And they did some things really well and they did some things not really well and that’s just part of growing,” Calvert Hall coach Bryan Kelly said. “I said to them, look we won — we’re 1-0 — and that’s where you want to be. If you think it’s every going to be easy, you’re crazy in this league. Overall, it was fun just to get out and compete and I’m proud of how our guys kind of stayed the course and there’s a lot of things we can build on from it.”
When Calvert Hall’s JoJo Dean (one goal, two assists) and Shuey Kelly scored 37 seconds apart late in the second quarter, the Cardinals took momentum and a 6-3 lead into the halftime break. After the Greyhounds pulled within one at 6-5 — with Oscar Woloson providing a goal and an assist early in the third quarter — the home team again found separation with Kelly’s two goals and assist pushing the lead at 9-5 entering the fourth quarter.
Two Calvert Hall penalties helped the Greyhounds cut the lead to 10-8 with 4:50 to play, as Pope scored on a two-man advantage and Brody added a goal shortly after. After Warry Calhoun made it 10-9, the Greyhounds had 3:15 on the clock to find the equalizer.
The Cardinals made sure it never came. “They’re a good team, but we just listened to our coaches and played as a team. Our whole defense had a mindset of just stop the ball, play as a team and stop the ball,” junior defenseman JK Kelly said.
Spalding 13, Severn 6: Junior Michael Weisshaar wasn’t the biggest, strongest or fastest player on the field Tuesday against Severn. In fact, he looks ordinary if not undersized for a lacrosse player in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association.
But in 48 minutes against the visiting Admirals in Severn, Weisshaar was anything but ordinary. After scoring two goals in a listless first half that ended tied at four, the midfielder put the Cavaliers on his back and scored five more goals to carry the home team to a 13-6 victory to remain perfect at 3-0 and open MIAA A Conference play with a cross-county win.
Weisshaar finished with eight points, while Race Ripley added two goals and two helpers and fellow junior attackman Ryan Schrier had two first-half goals for Spalding, which outscored Severn 5-0 in the third quarter and 9-1 in the second half.
“He’s Mighty Mouse out there,” Cavaliers coach Brian Phipps said of Weisshaar. “It’s pretty impressive watching him play lacrosse and then seeing his skill set and his desire to want to be the best player out there. He shows it every time he’s out there.”
Considering how stellar senior goalkeeper Jake Oliver (nine saves) was in front of Spalding’s net, Weisshaar put the game out of reach by scoring his fifth and sixth goals late in the third quarter. The latter came when he scooped up a loose ball in traffic and scored
in close after a save by Severn sophomore goalkeeper Will Perez Jr.
— Tim Schwartz
Boys soccer
Old Mill 4, Meade 0: Senior Bryce Blatzheim scored two goals — one in each half — while seniors Cameron James and Zack Harpel also scored for the Patriots to beat the Mustangs.
Sophomore Jose Guzman assisted James’ opening goal, and after grabbing a 2-0 halftime lead Harpel started the second half with a nice finish after following up his blocked shot. Blatzheim scored the fourth goal with freshman defender JJ Condra sending a 60-yard diagonal pass to Blatzheim, who one-touched the ball out of the air. Defensively, the Patiots were led by Xavier Lewis, Joe Chinchilla, JJ Condra, and Carter Jenkins.
Field hockey
Arundel 4, South River 1: As it turns out, the four hawks circling like vultures over South River’s turf were not a good omen for the host Seahawks.
Perhaps they foretold of the four goals that’d spell the first loss of the South River field hockey season.
Visiting Arundel struck once in the first half and three times in the latter to win 4-1 and spell an end to the year-and-half long field hockey hiatus among Anne Arundel public schools.
Wildcats coach Carrie Vosburg said she’d be lying if the perfectionist in her wasn’t already nitpicking the first outing by 2019 standards. But she knows she has to treat this for what it is: a short season after a long, grueling break since the last season with practices only two days per week.