‘Sky’s the limit’ for Severna Park’s Villagomez
Joaquin Villagomez is an imposing figure on the lacrosse field. Whenever the 6-foot6, 210-pound attackman bull dodges toward the cage, very few defensemen can stop him.
However, what truly makes the Severna Park High senior special is the shot, which is delivered with remarkable velocity, accuracy and suddenness.
Villagomez has used that cannon crank shot to score a team-best 53 goals this season. Villagomez also has 18 assists this season, leading the Falcons with 71 points, but coach Dave Earl said the youngster does not dodge with the thought of dishing.
“Joaquin’s first instinct is to pull the trigger. He’s definitely a real gunslinger,” Earl said. “No doubt, Joaquin’s shooting ability is formidable.”
Villagomez, who was recently voted a US Lacrosse High School All-American by the Anne Arundel County Public School Coaches, has signed with Towson University.
While the sport of lacrosse continues to improve its diversity, there are still relatively few Division I players of Hispanic or Latino background. Villagomez checks both boxes, as his father is from Ecuador.
Enrique Villagomez originally came to the United States to play tennis at Lock Haven University and is now the head professional at Safe Harbor Marina in Annapolis.
The younger Villagomez played soccer from “the time I could walk” until fifth grade. However, he gave up soccer to focus fully on lacrosse after “totally falling in love with the sport.”
There is another prominent lacrosse player of Hispanic heritage close by: Severn School goalie Will Perez, who made 18 saves in Tuesday night’s near upset of St. Mary’s, is of Mexican descent.
“I cannot say I have met too many other Latino lacrosse players,” Villagomez acknowledged. “It would be awesome to help spread the sport to the Latino community.”
Oonagh Callaghan, Villagomez’s mother, is of Irish descent and works as a teacher at Belvedere Elementary. Callaghan said her son has always been a natural athlete, excelling in swimming, tennis and golf in addition to soccer and lacrosse.
“Joaquin always gravitated to sports with a ball and a stick,” she said. “When he was introduced to lacrosse, it was a match made in heaven. He went full-bore with lacrosse.”
Villagomez came up through the Annapolis Youth Lacrosse Association as a member of a loaded team coached by Francis McAndrews
that captured three state championships.
Villagomez moved to the Cape Arthur neighborhood of Severna Park while in middle school and joined the API Diamondbacks club lacrosse program. He was a member of Diamondbacks 2022, which featured a slew of future Division I signees from Anne Arundel such as Paul Baldwin (Severn, Air Force), Connor Chick (South River, UMBC), Nick Gutierrez (Spalding, UMBC) and Justin Queen (Severn, Navy).
Former Maryland All-American and Major League Lacrosse All-Star attackman Andrew “Buggs” Combs coached Diamondbacks
2022, which is sending 20 players to the college ranks. Combs said no player has come further than Villagomez, who was going into eighth grade when he first joined the program.
“Joaquin was a kid who wasn’t real big and didn’t have a ton of confidence when he came to us. However, he was very determined and worked really, really hard to get better,” Combs said. “He is very coachable and has put a lot of time and effort into perfecting his technique.”
Villagomez was one of only two freshmen to make the Severna Park varsity in 2019. Earl was impressed with the youngster’s stick skills and felt he had a high upside.
A huge growth spurt between his freshman and sophomore seasons transformed Villagomez. Combs remembers it being a difficult time of transition for his player.
“That sophomore summer, Joaquin was trying to get acclimated to his body. He had a lot of awkward things going on because he had grown so quickly. He just didn’t have the fluidity,” said Combs, who saw Villagomez blossom by dedicating to the shooting drills the API coaching staff emphasizes. “Joaquin bought into shooting the right way and getting the ball out of his stick quickly. He learned how to catch the ball ready to shoot,” Combs said.
Towson’s coaching staff initially spotted Villagomez at the Under Armour All-American Underclass Tournament. Coach Shawn Nadelen and company continued to scout the Severna Park standout and eventually offered a scholarship.
“I’m very, very excited about playing at Towson. I feel it’s the perfect fit on a lot of levels,” Villagomez said. “When I was on campus there for my visit, I just got a great vibe and energy.”
Earl agrees that Villagomez is still a work in progress and his best lacrosse days are ahead. He could envision the versatile scorer playing attack or midfield and becoming a force.