by Brandon Hopp
bhopp@digitalsports.com

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Offense was the name of the game on Wednesday as Baltimore County rivals Eastern Tech and Pikesville's varsity boys lacrosse teams squared off for the 2A-1A North Regional Championship at Boushell Field at Pikesville.

The Mavericks (13-4) offense was just a bit sharper with its passes and took better advantage of good scoring opportunities than the Panthers (12-4), which was the difference in the game.  Senior leadership led Eastern Tech as Travis Crane, Matt Hershel and Jon Largent combined for seven goals and five assists.

Pikesville goalie Erick Zarzecki made 13 stops as he saw a lot of shots on goal.  Zarzecki made a few highlight reel saves but it wasn't enough for the Panthers.  Junior midfielder Ned Scher scored a team-high two goals for Pikesville.

Within the first minute, Eastern Tech jumped ahead on a goal by freshman attacker Ryan Davis.  Pikesville responded on the next possession with a score by Scher.  It looked as if these two teams would be trading scores back-and-forth all game.

However, the Mavericks scored the next three goals, one each by Crane, Largent and Hershel to take a 4-1 lead before Eric Bass scored for the Panthers to close the first quarter with a 4-2 score in favor of Eastern.

Scher scored the only goal of the second quarter to cut the Mavericks' lead to 4-3 heading into the half.

Like Tuesday, when Eastern Tech pulled away in the third quarter to defeat Owings Mills in the other 2A-1A North semifinal game 10-8, the Mavericks exploded out of the intermission to take a lead they wouldn't lose.

Crane, who is headed to UMBC to play lacrosse next spring, took over the game on the offensive end in the third.  After a Panthers goal by midfielder Jason Fidel tied the score at 4-4 early in the quarter, Crane scored three of the next four goals to give Tech a commanding 8-4 lead at the end of the third.

"In the first half, I was really looking for my teammates but coach [Barry Heddings] told me to be more aggressive in the second half," said Crane, who also had three assists in the contest.

The Panthers tried to double team Crane but on one goal, he attacked the middle of the field, split the double and fired the ball high into the net. 

The rest of the Mavericks rallied around the senior captain's intensity and shut the door on Pikesville in the final 12 minutes. 

Sophomore Zach Crane scored on a goal that was assisted by his brother Travis, to open the fourth and build a 9-4 Tech lead.  Bryan Price scored the last goal for the Panthers as the Mavericks responded with two more scores to ensure the title.

The defense for the Mavericks played smart and disrupted the Panthers' explosive offense.  Tech received big games from defensemen Rob Davis, Zach Burkhardt and goalie R.J. McNew.  McNew stopped 15 shots and saved a few close calls from the Panthers. 

"Our defense has been solid all year, I'm actually going to give a lot of credit to coach Sean Burke, who has been the defensive coordinator this year and has done great," said Heddings. 

Pikesville, which scored 19 goals on Tuesday against Western Tech in the other semifinal game, never seemed comfortable in their sets.  There were a lot of passes that either sailed long or were mishandled.

"[Eastern Tech] did a real nice job on shooting, they have a decent shooting team," said Pikesville head coach Craig Campbell.  "We wanted to work some of their guys but they are obviously very well conditioned.  Once we tied the game at 4-4, they were able to get the lead again at 5-4 and that made it a little difficult for us." 

Eastern Tech now advances to the State Semifinals and will play the winner of Parkside/Southern-Anne Arundel matchup in the 2A-1A East half of the bracket on Friday at Reservoir High School for a chance to move to the State Finals held at UMBC this weekend.


2A-1A North Regional Championship
Eastern Tech 11, Pikesville 5
 
Goals: ET--T. Crane 4, Hershel 2, Ry. Davis 2, Z. Crane, Jo. Largent, Guido; P-- Scher 2, Bass, Fidel, Prince.
 
Assists: ET--T. Crane 3, Z. Crane 2, Jo. Largent, Hershel; P--Fidel, Parker, Mashel.
 
Saves: ET--R.J. McNew 15; P--Zarzecki  13.

Half:  Eastern Tech 4, Pikesville 3.