Glenelg High School boys lacrosse coach Josh Hatmaker gathers his team after its 7-4 win over Southern in the Maryland Class 2A-1A state championship at UMBC on Tuesday.
The Glenelg offense, led by senior attacker Chris Gotschall (right), was finally able to figure out Southern goalkeeper Ike Riggs but the junior still blocked 17 of the Gladiators' shots.
During its perfect run this season, no opponent held the
Glenelg High School boys lacrosse team to a single goal in the first half. Yet, when the Gladiators sat together during the intermission, there was no finger pointing and no one was worried.
Senior attacker Gotschall described it as just a matter of time before he and his teammates figured out
Southern's zone defense. A matter of time turned out to be exactly 3 minutes and 25 seconds.
Gotschall scored two of his team-high three goals to open the second half and take the lead for good in Glenelg's 7-4 victory over the Bulldogs in the Maryland Class 2A-1A state championship at the University of Maryland Baltimore County on Tuesday.
The Gladiators, out of Howard County, put the finishing touches on a perfect 18-0 season and repeated as state champions -- they won the 3A-2A title last season before dropping down a classification. Southern, which advanced to the state title game for the first time since consecutive appearances in 2001 and 2002, finished at 10-7.
"They played a zone so it was hard getting inside and scoring like we always do," said senior attacker Tyler Buford, who scored a team-high 43 goals during the regular season and finsihed with two on Tuesday. "We knew we would get some as soon as we figured out the goalie."
Southern goalkeeper Ike Riggs was a stonewall before the break. There were a few times when Glenelg did penetrate and he was successful anticipating the quick passes around the crease.
"It was nice," Riggs (17 saves) said about holding the Gladiators to one goal in the first half. "It told us that we could hang with them."
Glenelg limited its turnovers in the second half and started to attack the Bulldogs in transition. Gotschall's two-goal spurt gave the Gladiators a 3-2 lead with 8:35 left in the third period and then Buford scored on a bouncing shot after a quick pass from senior attacker Josh Braun to open the fourth.
"There were a couple times when we didn't step to and Buford finished on those," said Southern coach Brendan Brace, whose team plays in the competitive Anne Arundel County against bigger schools and survived a five-game losing streak in the middle of the regular season.
"A couple things hurt us: the transition game and forcing things on offense."
The game plan didn't really change for Glenelg after halftime, coach Josh Hatmaker said.
"I thought we were getting shots, we just had to capitalize on them," he said. "Against a zone, you have to stretch it. We did a good job of keeping the ball moving and that freed some stuff up."
The Gladiators poured on 48 shots, which was more than twice as many as Southern's 21. Most of the damage came in the seocnd half. Senior midfielder Ryan Dougherty tallied a goal and an assist for Glenelg while senior midfielder Mike Silas added two assists.
Senior attacker Jimmy Gibbons (goal, two assists) scored in traffic with 9:03 left in the game. It was the Bulldogs' first goal of the second half and it cut Glenelg's lead to 5-3. Gibbons fed senior midfielder Daniel Dowd twice in the first half and Dowd finished with a team-high three goals.
Southern won the battle for ground balls (31-10) and controlled more faceoffs (10-5) but being held scoreless in the third was costly.
Senior goalkeeper Jon Selfridge registered 16 saves for the Gladiators and a close defense, which consisted of Kyle Hofstetter, Mike McCabe and Jake Isaacs, thwarted late rallies by the Bulldogs.
The pressure to finish undefeated, coupled with repeating as state champions, was evident for Glenelg but Hatmaker said the team never really talked about it. Would the season have been a letdown without the title?
"Oh, absolutely," Hatmaker said. "It would be a disappointment to lose that final game. To finish it off and give these guys two state championships is something special."
Glenelg (18-0) 0 1 2 4 - 7
Southern (10-7) 1 1 0 2 - 4
GOALS: G - Gotschall 3, Burford 2, Dougherty; S - Dowd 3, Gibbons. ASSISTS: G - Silas 2, Dougherty, Braun, Dubois. SHOTS: G - 48; SO - 21. SAVES: G - Selfridge 16; SO - Riggs 17. GROUND BALLS: G - 10; SO - 31. FACEOFFS: G - 5; SO - 10.