Falcons pass ‘big test,’ end Bruins’ 26-game win streak

Sullivan’s 4 goals help maintain perfect record

Moments before Friday night’s showdown with neighborhood rival Broadneck, first-year Severna Park coach Bob Zichelli was asked how his unbeaten team looked so far.

“We’ve won the games we were supposed to win,” he said. “Tonight will be a big test.”

The Falcons passed the test with flying colors, dominating on both ends of the field in posting a stunning lopsided victory over the Bruins.

Junior attackman Timmy Sullivan scored four goals, while senior goalie Calvin Winship made 12 saves as Severna Park handled Broadneck, 11-4, Friday night. Junior attackman Jake Fish totaled two goals and an assist for the Falcons, who took a 6-1 halftime lead and never looked back.

“This is a huge, huge win. I’ve been thinking about this game all season. To have everybody firing on all cylinders is something to see,” Winship said. “I’m just so proud of everybody. I really like our guys.”

Senior midfielder John Burkhardt scored two goals for Severna Park, which put an end to Broadneck’s 26-game winning streak.

“It’s a very big statement. It’s huge. The kids really wanted this one, there is no doubt,” Zichelli said. “I didn’t think we were going to beat them by this much.”

Winship and the entire Severna Park defense were the story in this matchup between reigning state champions. Upton Young was all over the field causing turnovers, scooping ground balls and leading the transition, while fellow senior defender Joey Viskocil also played well as the Falcons limited the Bruins to one goal in each period.

“Our defense was absolutely great and our goalie played unbelievable,” Zichelli said. “Landon Williams and Merric Warren, our two short stick defensive middies, were great today. Upton Young did a tremendous job as usual, while Joey Viskocil is a steady, steady defender who doesn’t get a lot of credit. Calvin was just fantastic from start to finish.”

Severna Park showed on the game’s opening possession the quick ball and player movement that would be on display throughout the night. Fish dodged past a defender from the left wing and drew a double team. Sullivan cut to open space out front and Fish found him for a goal with just 38 seconds elapsed.

“We had a lot of guys get involved, which was great. They

zeroed in on Fish a lot, so we needed some other guys to step up,” Zichelli said. “Offensively, we’ve been working on having good possessions and generating dangerous scoring opportunities.”

Standout specialist

Graham Hartman won 12 of 16 faceoffs, but Broadneck was unable to capitalize due to sloppy ball-handling and ill-advised passes. The Bruins committed a ton of turnovers, most of which were unforced.

“Kudos to their goalie because he made some great saves, but I think we were being extremely selfish with our offense. We were throwing the ball away and taking some low-percentage shots,” Broadneck coach Jeff McGuire said. “You can count some of those saves as turnovers as well. Just not running our offense the way we usually do.”

Senior goalie Matt Tettemer made eight saves for Broadneck, which also had some defensive breakdowns that enabled Severna Park to get open looks. The Bruins committed seven penalties, most of which came on the defensive end.

McGuire acknowledged it was a wakeup call for Broadneck, which barely beat South River (10-8) last Friday and Mount Hebron (8-7) on Monday. The fifthyear coach hopes this loss sparks the Bruins to another state title.

“I’m thankful that it happened now. Cleary, with Monday’s game against Mount Hebron going into overtime then tonight coming out and getting worked, it’s now gut-check time,” McGuire said. “It’s up to this team to right the ship and see what we can do with the tools that we have in the shed. It’s up to the players to answer the bell and show up with more effort and enthusiasm than we did tonight.”

Broadneck —1111—4

Severna Park —4232—11

GOALS: BN — McGill, Harris, Homlosy, Hicks. SP — Sullivan 4, Burkhardt 2, Fish 2, Williams, Lawhorne, Grizzle.

BN — Boone. SP — Fish, Moran, Rupert, Mazcko, Young.