Senior Manalansan nets game-winner

No. 11 Catonsville nips No. 9 MSJ in showdown of neighborhood rivals

Catonsville senior Frank Manalansan scored the game-winning goal with 7:28 left in the fourth quarter and the host Comets held on for a 9-8 victory over Mount Saint Joseph on Saturday afternoon in lacrosse.

It was the only goal of the game for Manalansan and it came off the third assist for Byron Newman, who also added a goal in the win between schools separated by less than 4 miles. Newman found Manalansan alone at the top of the crease, and the senior buried the shot before Catonsville’s defense held on for the win.

“Frank just has a knack for getting open near the crease,” Newman said. “Me and him have played together for countless years, so we’ve got a really good chemistry together and he has amazing hands and size and amazing finishing ability.”

Catonsville coach KR Schultz felt confident with the ball in Newman’s stick.

“He is obsessed with getting better every day and he has a really, really good knack for just making smart lacrosse plays and seeing the field and setting his buddies up,” Schultz said of the senior who transferred from St. Paul’s after his freshman year.

The job wasn’t done for the Comets (10-0), who rallied from a 6-3 halftime deficit.

Two minutes after Manalansan’s goal, the Gaels’ Owen Craney hit the post.

With 2:40 left, a shot by Aidan Addison sailed wide. Seventeen seconds later, Owen Cooper’s shot was corralled by Catonsville goalie Brian Ruppel.

Ruppel (seven saves), who will play at the Maryland next season, saved his best for last.

After a timeout with 26 seconds remaining, the Gaels (5-7) isolated a play for Maddux Walton, whose low shot from the doorstep was saved by Ruppel. The ball rolled toward the corner and Ruppel tracked it down and was fouled with three seconds left to preserve to win.

“We knew they were going to have a set play and Jack Krug did a great job of forcing his left-handed player under and he trusted me to make a low-angle save and luckily I made the save at the end,” Ruppel said. “I got my leg on it and I saw the ball and I said, ‘I’m getting the ball and I got it’ and I got popped when I got up. I was just so happy, it was awesome.”

Ruppel’s play did not go unnoticed by either coach.

“He’s a great goalie and he started to get hot in the second half and there is a reason he is considered the top goalie in the country. He carries their defense, and he did an excellent job back there and he made it much tougher for us in the second half,” Mount Saint Joseph coach Tyler Reid said.

“Brian is just an incredible competitor, and incredible goalie, incredible lacrosse player, he’s always watching film, always trying to develop his game always trying to get better,” Schultz said.

Ruppel had plenty of defensive help in the second half from defenders James Azbill, Will Roberson, John Gorski, Josh Williams and Krug.

The Gaels controlled the first half, ignited by goals from Finn Schmidt and Andrew Rippeon in the first two minutes.

Rippeon’s goal came seven seconds after

Schmidt’s, when he won the faceoff and carried it home. The tandem of Rippeon and Ben Clark won 12 of 18 faceoffs for the Gaels.

Newman’s assist to Johnny Bolster cut Mount Saint Joseph’s lead in half with 8:21 left in the first quarter.

Schmidt’s goal, assisted by Nick Easley, gave the Gaels a 3-1 lead after one quarter.

When Walton scored less than two minutes into the second quarter, the Gaels had their biggest lead at 4-1.

“Our offense was a little intimidated coming out because we haven’t played an opponent in the MIAA yet and that is like playing the best division in the country,” said Newman, whose only goal came with 7:43 left in the second quarter off an assist by Tyler Mikalaski.

Schmidt’s third goal of the half, after a feed by Walton, pushed the lead to 5-2 and a penalty on the shot gave them a man advantage. But Ruppel’s save on a tough low shot by Schmidt helped the Comets kill the penalty without further damage.

Jay Rualo followed his own rebound and scored, making it 5-3, but with 1:40 left in the half Corey Myers scored and the Gaels were confident going into the second half.