Severna Park Survives To Win Boys Lax County Title

With Broadneck stifling their offensive momentum and determined to put on a better showing than in their last matchup, Severna Park’s boys lacrosse team found itself at a crossroads Monday night.

The first half was far from the Falcons’ championship standard, and the coaching staff let them know it. But the Bruins had smothered top scoring duo Jack Fish and John Burkhardt with relentless efficiency. They needed adjustments, and they needed them urgently.

Behind those adjustments, Severna Park woke up in the third quarter and then withstood one final punch from Broadneck to hold off the Bruins 6-5 and reclaim the county championship.

“(Broadneck) did a great job and forced out on us, which not a lot of teams have done against us,” said Severna Park coach Bob Zichelli. “We threw the ball away because we weren’t waiting for the guys to get open. We’re used to no pressure, throw the ball down, and they were really pressuring out. Finally (the Falcons) figured out what they were doing, even then we didn’t score a lot of goals, just enough.”

Broadneck led 3-2 at halftime, all of that scoring coming in the first period of a physical, intense, and largely disciplined half.

Then the Falcons got going and the game opened up. Tucker Moran withstood a crushing check to score a little more than a minute into the third period to tie the game, a play on which Broadneck was tagged with a penalty. Tim Sullivan scored 65 seconds later, his second of the game, then Moran capped a 3-0 scoring run when a mix-up in Broadneck’s breakout led to Moran intercepting the ball near midfield, from which he was able to fire into an open net.

“In hindsight, it was probably not the best shot, but the adrenaline took over, and it worked out,” Moran said. “At halftime, it was just, ‘I’ve got to make a play. I’ve got to get out of this mindset, and we need to win the game.’”

Moran also assisted on the eventual decisive goal, a feed from behind the net to Hunter Reid, who netted from close range with 7:29 to play in the game.

That was after Broadneck launched a furious rally in the early stages of the fourth. Tyler Hicks got on the board, and then on the ensuing faceoff, Severna Park was able to deny Broadneck’s draw maestro Graham Hartman a clear win, a key part of the Falcons’ game plan.

But the ball squirted right to Broadneck’s speedy midfielder Eli Harris, who raced away from the defense and fizzed in a shot to give Broadneck a second goal in 15 seconds and tie the game.

Broadneck would get the final possession of the game, in which the Bruins got Hicks in a promising position. But Severna Park’s Upton Young, beaten on the play, rapped Hicks on the head to disrupt his shot and gladly took a penalty for his trouble. From the ensuing restart, the Falcons deflected a pass into the middle for Blake Levicki, who had scored twice in the first period for Broadneck, and the ball went to Severna Park defender Merric Warren, who sailed it as far down the field as he could to bleed off the final seconds.

Braden McCassie also scored for Broadneck, while Jack Fish also had a goal for the Falcons. In goal, Matt Tettemer had nine saves for Broadneck and Calvin Winship had 11 stops for Severna Park.

Both teams are back in action in their region semifinals later this week. Broadneck visits Annapolis on Thursday, while Severna Park hosts either South River or Arundel on Friday.