Senior Chris Gotschall scored with 2:44 remaining to bring the Gladiators to within one goal and again with 3:26 remaining in the second overtime.
Senior Glenelg goalie Jon Selfridge makes one of his 12 saves.
By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.comGlenelg senior boys lacrosse attackman Chris Gotschall felt he had a lot to prove Saturday.
Heading into his game against the MIAA-A’s Archbishop Spalding, Gotschall wanted to prove that his public-schooled Gladiators could hang with Spalding’s private-school pedigree. The problem was, his shooting during practice the day before still had him steaming, Coach Josh Hatmaker said.
Gotschall proved his shooting is just fine and that the defending Maryland 3A/2A state champs can beat one of the upper-echelon teams, as he ripped a game-winning goal in double overtime to send the Glenelg bounding onto the field with a 9-8 victory in the 12th Annual Maryland High School Lacrosse Showdown at Johns Hopkins University.
“It’s a huge win just because they’re private and we’re public,” Gotschall said. “There’s always a feeling the private schools are better than the public schools. We want to prove that we’re equal if not better than private schools. And if we play our game, we can beat anyone.”
After taking a 6-4 lead into the fourth quarter, the Gladiators (3-0) found themselves behind by two goals with four minutes, 23 seconds remaining in the game. They remained patient on offense, however, and Gotschall scored with 2:44 left. Junior midfielder Curtis Adams knotted the game on an assist by senior Tyler Burford with 22 seconds remaining on the clock to send the game into overtime.
The two teams traded multiple possessions in the first overtime with nobody able to score. Finally, with fatigue setting in, Gotschall wheeled around on a question-mark route and put the game-winning shot between the goalkeepers’ legs. Spalding dropped to 4-2 on the season.
“I’m happy for Chris,” Hatmaker said. “He’s his own worst critic. He’s really hard on himself, but he’s a tough kid and I’ll take one of those any time. … He might still be steaming after practice the other day, but I think he may be feeling better now.”
Hatmaker was feeling good about his team after it battled back from two goals behind in the final minutes. Before that, Glenelg was either ahead or tied ever since about midway through the first quarter. It was the Gladiators’ first true test in Maryland after they posted wins over James Madison and Wilde Lake to open the season.
The Gladiators performed well under the pressure behind its nine returning starters from last season’s championship squad.
“These guys, I’ll tell you what, they could have folded real easy when [Spalding] got up two,” Hatmaker said. “But they didn’t. … Maybe that happens another year, but we’re starting nine seniors. That’s a big thing. They can handle the pressure and say we can succeed.”
Gotschall said he feels the pressure to live up to last year’s state title win, a 6-3 grind-it-out struggle with Fallston that gave the Gladiators their first state title in program history. But along with senior goalie Jon Selfridge, who made 12 saves, Gotschall and the Gladiators are already feeling confident they can repeat this year.
“I feel we’re a lot better [that last year],” Selfridge said. “We’ve got a lot of great athletes. There are a lot of returning guys and young guys stepping up. We’re only a month into the season and we’re playing great.”