‘The guys stepped up’
Comets edge Bulls for top spot in Baltimore County
The Catonsville and Hereford boys lacrosse teams have separated themselves from the rest of the Baltimore County Division A teams this season and the big question to be answered came Thursday when the two undefeated league teams squared off in a highly anticipated showdown that met expectations.
In the end, No. 11 Catonsville came out sharper for the fourth quarter to build a margin just big enough to withstand the No. 12 Bulls’ late push. The visiting Comets got two goals each from Johnny Bolster and Frank Manalansan, strong faceoff work from Nate Wess and eight saves from goalie Brian Ruppel to secure a 7-6 win over Hereford.
Catonsville improves to 9-0 overall and 4-0 in league play, handing Hereford (7-2, 3-1) its first league setback.
After Bolster scored his second goal with 3:25 to play in the fourth quarter, the Comets appeared to finally take hold of a game with their biggest lead at 7-4.
But the Bulls, on their senior night, didn’t hang their heads.
Logan Sinsebox scored with the home team down a player with 2:10 left and then a takeaway by Austin Clarke set up a goal by
Nathan Van Note to cut the deficit to 7-6 with 30 seconds to play.
Wess would win the game’s biggest faceoff, but the Comets sent the ball out of bounds, giving the Bulls possession with 21 seconds left. The Catonsville defense, sturdy throughout, proved up to the challenge as the Bulls never got a potential game-tying shot off before time expired.
“We had a feeling it was going to be a tough one coming in — Hereford has a great team, [it was] senior night and there’s going to be a lot of high emotions for them,” said Ruppel, who made two key stops early in the fourth quarter when it was a one-goal game. “So we kind of had to battle all game. Our offense played a great game, Nate Wess at the faceoff ‘X’ had a great game. It was a little closer than we like, a little closer than we’ve had all year, but I think it’s good for us to battle some adversity.”
The Comets never trailed but never had a lead of more than two goals before taking a 5-4 lead into the fourth quarter.
With the intensity further cranked up and the details more magnified, they had the answers to build what turned out to be the winning margin.
The Bulls had one shot clank off the pipe and then Ruppel helped keep the Comets ahead when he stopped a shot by Brendan Kittner with 10:22 left.
A little more than two minutes later, Manlansan took a feed from Eric Kaplan (one goal, one assist) and scored to push the lead to 6-4. After another save from Ruppel, Bolston put away a rebound to make it 7-4. Having outscored their first eight opponents by a whopping 109 to 23 margin, the Comets hadn’t faced the late fourth-quarter pressure before. But they stayed poised on the Bulls’ final possession to pull through.
“I was proud of the guys for making plays in the fourth quarter,” said Catonsville coach KR Schultz. “We didn’t do everything right and we have a lot to learn from this one, which is awesome. [Hereford] is a great team, so it was good we have some learning experiences. … The guys stepped up. They stayed mentally tough — something we talk about a lot — so they stayed up and just fought to close it out.”
Hereford got a two-goal, one assist performance from Trey Gibbons, while goalie Cole Jedlicka was solid throughout with 10 saves. Despite the tough loss, coach Kyle Leppert was impressed with the way his Bulls stayed the course up to the final whistle.
“They’re doing what we ask. I think there’s guys that would want a couple moments back — a catch here, a better shot somewhere — but they kept their minds and that really was a good showing,” he said.
The Comets return to action at noon Saturday, hosting Mount Saint Joseph in nonconference play. The Bulls have a week off, set to play at league rival Towson on April 28 at 5:15 p.m.