No. 2 Calvert Hall lacrosse fends off No. 8 St. Paul’s, 11-8, in MIAA A play
One of the things Calvert Hall lacrosse has done particularly well this season is simply stick together.
During the good times and more challenging ones, the No. 2 Cardinals have shown a knack for pulling through, which proved to be the case again in an 11-8 win at No. 8 St. Paul’s on Friday.
Preston Huffman led a balanced attack with two goals and two assists, Ben Cuomo won 18 of 22 faceoffs and goalie Alex Swartz made 11 saves as Calvert Hall (9-4) improved to 6-1 in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference.
A sensational start led to a 7-2 lead for Calvert Hall before the Crusaders (7-4, 3-4) got within two goals on four occasions in the second half. The Cardinals were adamant about not letting them get any closer.
“Storms were coming on us and our guys were just able to bear down,” Calvert Hall coach Bryan Kelly said. “They’ve done it all year so far and hopefully we can continue to do it. St. Paul’s is a great team and those kids fought really hard. But our guys just stuck together.”
Cuomo’s dominant play in the circle provided a spark early and salvation late. Leading 3-2 late in the first quarter, the Cardinals scored four straight goals in a five-minute stretch, with Huffman’s score providing a 7-2 advantage with 9:01 to play in the half.
But the Crusaders gained momentum behind Jack Iannantuono, who scored two of his four goals late in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 7-4 at the break.
After Jack Bowman got the home team off to a good start early in the third quarter with a goal that cut the lead to 7-5, the Cardinals killed off two straight one-minute penalties and added to their lead when Peyton Forte (two goals, one assist) scored shorthanded to make it 8-5 with 2:59 left in the third quarter.
When Swartz was called for a one-minute misconduct penalty to start the fourth quarter with the Cardinals’ lead at 9-6, backup goalie Greyson Enrique filled in admirably with a point-blank save to help kill the penalty and a second stop before Swartz was able to get back in the game.
Luke Bair (two goals, three assists) found Iannantuono (four goals) twice in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to two, but the Cardinals had answers. Jackson Mitchell scored on an assist from Huffman in between the Crusaders’ goals and Forte finished in an empty net with 24 seconds left to seal the win.
“We just stayed in there every play,” Cuomo said. “We were up 7-2 and they kept fighting and came back. But we just stayed in it and all the boys kept going, so it was a great effort all around and a great game for us.”
St. Paul’s got a sensational 12-save performance from goalie Gordie Smith with Grady O’Day contributing one goal and one assist on offense.
“Calvert Hall is extremely good, well coached and just solid all around,” St. Paul’s coach Steve Settembrino said. “Our guys battled, they fought real hard, we missed some opportunities in the third quarter to get it within one. But I was really pleased with how well we responded, especially our defense.”
Both teams return to league play Tuesday with 4 p.m. games. Calvert Hall hosts No. 12 Mount Saint Joseph and St. Paul’s travels to No. 7 Archbishop Spalding.
Calvert Hall — 5-2-2-2 — 11
St. Paul’s — 2-2-2-2 — 8
Goals: CH — Scott, Forte 2, Mitchell 2, W. Schoonmaker 2, Huffman 2, Steer, Collier; SP — O’Day, Iannantuono 4, Bair 2, Bowman.
Assists: CH — Scott, Forte, W, Schoonmaker, Huffman 2, Butler; SP — O’Day, Bair 3 .
Saves: CH — Swartz 11, Enrique 2; SP — Smith 12