by Lem Satterfield


(See videos below)

The defining moments for this year's Marriotts Ridge boys lacrosse team can be traced back to their last two games of last season.

First, the Mustangs upended Pikesville of Baltimore County for the program's first-ever regional title -- the Class 2A-1A North Region version.

And then, the Mustangs lost their semifinal, 7-5, to perennial small school power, Parkside of the Eastern Shore, leaving them a with a mixture of disappointment as well as encouragement.

"The last two games definitely built on our enthusiasm. The whole playoffs we were just pumped up and ready to go," said returning junior defender, James Nies, during a recent Mustangs' practice.

"The last game was a tough one -- the game we lost. It brought us down a little bit. But it showed us what we needed to work on," Nies said of the loss to Parkside, an eventual state runner-up.

"We did all of the fall stuff and we're ready to go now," Nies said. "All of us did fall ball, basically all of the returners. Even the second-string guys -- they all did fall ball."

The enthusiasm has been apparent during the Mustangs' practices, said coach Dan Sageman, whose fourth-year program has seniors for the first time in school history.

"So far, we're looking pretty good. We have all of our players back from last year's team. We had a couple of injuries last year, but in the playoffs, they call came back and we had a run. We're trying to build off of that," Sageman said.

"Howard County is an awesome league to play in. Every game is a battle. If you look at the last few years, there's been a state champion from the county either Mount Hebron, Centennial, or, last year, Glenelg," Sageman said.

"We face those teams every year, so that gets us ready," Sageman said. "That's all we look forward to, the league, the playoff and making a run."

School: Marriotts Ridge Mustangs

League: Howard County

Coach's Name: Dan Sageman (15 years coaching at High School Level)

Last Year's record/playoff advancement: 6-12, defeated Pikesville for the Class 2A-1A North Regional title, lost in state

semifinal 7-5 to eventual state runner-up Parkside.

Top Returners:

Kyle Williams, Junior, Attack

James Lindsay, Sophmore, Attack

Dan Incontrera, Senior, Midfield

Joon Son, Senior, Midfield

James Nies, Junior, Defense

Dan Schonfeld, Junior, Goalie

Top Newcomers:

"We are in the unique position that this will be our schools first senior class," said Sageman. "We are returning most of our 2007 team."

Season Outlook:

 
"We are looking to improve our record, especially in Howard County," Sageman said.  "We expect to be competitive in every game and look forward to the 2008 season."

2007 Varsity Stats

 

Kyle Williams      39 goals      34 assists    73 points

 

James Lindsay      28 goals      9 assists      37 points

 

Joon Son              18 goals      10 assists    28 points

 

Dan Incontrera     16 goals      7 assists      23 points

 

Jonathan Lim       14 goals      7 assists      21 points

 

Chris Fischer        11 goals      2 assists      13 points

 

Jimmy Yoon         5 goals        4 assists      9 points

 

John Simonetti     5 goals        2 assists      7 points

 

Dan Schonfeld      1 goal         0 assists       1 point

 

Matt Tompkins     0 goals         1 assist       1 point

 

Brian McArthur    0 goals         1 assist       1 point

 

Matt McWilliams   0 goals        1 assist       1 point

 

Alex Jimeson        0 goals       1 assist       1 point

 

 

Ground Ball Leader-John Simonetti 218

Faceoff-John Simonetti 61% win percentage

Saves-Dan Schonfeld 61% Save Percentage