Glenelg High boys' lacrosse is headed back to the Class 2A/1A state Final Four after beating Century for the West Region title Wednesday afternoon. The defending state champs will play Friday or Saturday at Reservoir.
Glenelg High boys' lacrosse team remained on track for a second straight Class 2A/1A championship, defeating Century, 14-6, in the West Region finals Wednesday.
Led by Chris Gotschall’s four goals, the Gladiators (16-0 overall) were too much Century, jumping out to a 5-0 first quarter advantage. The Gladiators will play either Joppatowne or Harford Tech in the state Final Four Friday or Saturday at Reservoir High.
Glenelg coach Josh Hatmaker said the key was his defensemen applying constant pressure on Century’s attack and sustained offensive possessions. Century, which five-game winning streak was snapped, got within 5-2 in the second quarter before settling for a 6-3 halftime deficit.
“It’s not often that you have two teams playing back-to-back games like this so late in the season,” said Hatmaker, “But our kids responded well.”
Century attacker Tyler Cockey was instrumental in keeping Century competitive, scoring three goals in the game as well as posing matchup problems for the Gladiators' defensemen.
“Cockey is a player, no doubt about that, he’s tough.” said Hatmaker. Knights' goalie Mike Burgoyne also made several key saves to keep the Carroll County within striking distance.
The third period began with a quick hitting transition goal from Cockey cross that pulled Century within two goals, 6-4. Ryan Dougherty and Gotschall added two quick scores in the period to extend Glenelg’s lead to 9-4 and essentially put the game out of reach for Century.
Glenelg had success throughout the game finding open space for quick hitting scores against the Knights' defense, including a nifty behind-the-head tally in the last period from Tyler Burford.
The only down moment for Glenelg came in the second quarter when Ricky DuBois was penalized for an illegal stick.
“Unfortunately, we’ve played a lot of man down this season,” said Hatmaker. “The kid thought his stick was good. Hopefully, we’ll get that figured out before the next game.”