Loyola Blakefield holds on for upset of nation’s top team McDonogh

The nine-goal advantage that No. 4 Loyola Blakefield lacrosse stunningly took into the third quarter against No. 1 McDonogh on Friday had completely slipped away midway through the fourth.

The Eagles, who moved up to No. 1 in the USA Lacrosse High School Boys’ National Top 25 this week, had all the momentum. But the host Dons had something coach Gene Ubriaco likes to call a “belief jar” that is currently spilling over.

Loyola junior attackman Matt Burnam broke the tie on a goal with 3:54 to play and the defense killed off a one-minute penalty before goalie Bennett Wright turned back McCabe Millon’s shot with six seconds left.

The excitement that came from the host Dons when the final whistle sounded — securing a thrilling 14-13 win — was much more excessive than a typical regular-season game in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference.

It was warranted.

Loyola (7-2) takes over sole possession of first place with a 4-0 league mark, handing McDonogh (9-1, 3-1) its first loss of the season.

“I think everyone who was at this game will remember being at this game and it’s more a testament to our league than anything else,” Ubriaco said. “We’re sitting there at halftime up 10-2 and I told my coaches, ‘It’s going to take 13 goals, and I was off by one. Anything culture related, I know this group and I know they would respond.”

After scoring five unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to claim an 11-9 win at No. 5 St. Paul’s on Tuesday, the Dons kept it rolling through the first half Friday.

With senior faceoff specialist Nico Madden holding his own against McDonogh standout Zach Hayashi, the Dons were getting their share of possession and efficiently running their attack to build a 10-2 halftime lead. Burnam (two goals, three assists), Luke Rush (two goals, one assist), Mason Cook (three goals, one assist) and Shane Elliott (one goal, three assists) all pitched in on attack.

When Cook scored the opening goal of the second half with 8:59 left in the third quarter, making it 11-2, it appeared the home team would be on its way to a comfortable win. The Eagles had other plans.

Hayashi took over on faceoffs and the Eagles’ attack began to hum. They scored eight of the next nine goals with Millon’s tally cutting it to 12-9 with 9:32 left in the fourth quarter.

After Cook pushed the lead back to 13-9 a minute later, the Eagles scored four straight, including three on man-advantage opportunities. At the edge of the crease, Brendan Millon took a feed from Luke Miller and his shot trickled in past Wright to tie the game at 13 with 6:24 to play.

Asked what it felt like in that moment, watching the other team rally to tie the game, Burnam said: “That feeling was weird. But I knew we prepared well, our coaches got us ready for the game and I just thought, ‘Stick to what we do in our system,’ and we’d win.”

Dixon dinged a shot off the post with 4:31 to play before Burnam scored in front off a rebound of his own shot with 3:54 to play. The Dons’ defense hunkered down to kill off the Eagles’ man-advantage opportunity and then had to hold them off for one final possession that started with 1:04 to play. One shot went wide, and then McCabe Millon got off the final shot from the left side with Wright holding his ground for his seventh save.

“We knew [McCabe Millon] was going to goal — he’s their guy,” Wright said. “So we had Peter Laake on him — one of our best defensemen who did a good job on him all game — and then we doubled him and he still went to goal with it. So I just got ready for the shot and it hit off my ankle and that sealed the game.”

“We got a great senior group with tons of heart and character on the team. But hats off to Loyola — they played an awesome game. They earned it — they outplayed us for sure,” McDonogh coach Andy Hilgartner said. “But just the fact that we made the comeback and got it to 13-13 after being down 11-2 in the third quarter, I think that will benefit us down the road for sure.”

Seniors Jess Kent and Paige Moreland combined for 14 points to lead visiting Westminster to an 18-4 victory over Catonsville on Friday.

Kent scored seven goals and Moreland had three goals and four assists as the Owls scored the first 10 goals.

“They are definitely awesome contributors on the attacking end, and something that is great about them is their hard work and determination to contribute all over the field and not just in goals and assists,” Westminster coach Tori McDonald said. “Those two have been playing together a really long time.”

— Craig Clary

Mt. Hebron attacker Kate Webb and defender Kylie Ritter know that as senior captains, part of their responsibility is setting the tone.

At halftime of Friday night’s game against Howard, both focused on the importance of playing with heightened energy on both ends of the field. Webb lead the way offensively, while Ritter anchored the defense.

“A good halftime talk just reminded us to pick up the energy and communicate with each other,” Ritter said. “Hype each other up, so that way everyone knows and if everyone else is screaming the energy will rise, which will only help everyone.”

— Jacob Steinberg

Abigail Marmen has power hitter tendencies. The freshman first baseman waits on pitches for one she feels comfortable she can belt over the fence.

There were two outs and two strikes against her with the bases loaded in the third inning Friday as her Fallston Cougars trailed Bel Air by a run. The pressure mounted on her shoulders with a chance to tip the scale.

Cougars first-year coach Carrie Clark saw Marmen metaphorically licking her lips at the possibility of a grand slam. But Clark, who was standing just off third base, gave Marmen a gesture reminding her to stay poised and not try to do too much. Marmen made solid contact on a single into right field that scored two runs.

That kick-started Fallston (5-4) in its 7-1 victory over the Bobcats.

— Sam Cohn