Severna Park boys lacrosse hangs to win Anne Arundel County title with 6-5 victory over Broadneck
Severna Park senior Tucker Moran stalked back onto the Glen Burnie stadium field with his coach’s screams still ringing in his ears and one thought on his mind: “I got to make a play.”
The entire offensive unit earned the verbal lashing. The Falcons went scoreless in the second quarter of Monday’s county championship game and trailed Broadneck by a goal. Bruins laughed and screeched with each of the three goals they netted.
Until Moran stole their momentum from them.
The midfielder scored twice in the third quarter, once on an open net, to give Severna Park the upper-hand it needed in the third. Then, after Broadneck knotted the game, Moran fed the go-ahead and eventual game-winner to beat the Bruins, 6-5, and capture Severna Park’s 15th county championship since 2000, and right the wrongs of losing it to Broadneck in 2023.
Three nights ago, Severna Park (13-1) just avenged a loss to South River and knew the Bruins would be seeking the same revenge.
Tied in the fourth quarter, the Falcons peppered Tettemer with shots, most of which the Bruins hit wide and away. Finally, Moran loaded the ball and rolled around the back side of the net as senior Hunter Reed bolted towards him. He watched enough film with the offense to know the middle would be wide-open.
“I’d been looking for it all game,” Moran said. “It just happened to be at the end.”
Reed attacked. The Falcons sideline roared. But in the dwindling minutes, all Broadneck needed was one split second slip-up in Severna Park’s defense to tie and hang on for another shot at defending the county championship in overtime.
In the last seconds, Severna Park rushed senior Logan McGill, so the Bruin flung a pass. Tyler Hicks rushed to it as Falcons defenders flanked him and knocked the ball skybound. Severna Park’s Merric Warren got to the loose ball first and launched the ball so hard it nearly smacked a car in a distant parking lot.
Broadneck’s defense forced the Falcons offense out in the first half, a scheme Severna Park simply was not prepared for. But by halftime, they figured it out.
“Even then we didn’t score a ton,” Severna Park coach Bob Zichelli said, “but enough.”
Early in the third, Moran got the Falcons back on the board and tying the game, in the process drawing a penalty that sent a Bruins defender to the sideline for a minute. The go-ahead goal soon followed. Broadneck flooded down-field to respond, but keeper Calvin Winship snapped up the would-be goal without so much as shifting his body.
Broadneck goalie Matt Tettemer matched Winship save for save, but the Falcon keeper didn’t make the same crucial error the Bruin did. Tettemer lurched out of his cage, intending to move the Broadneck possession down while a Falcon hunted him down.
The goalkeeper lost the ball and Moran scooped it up. The Falcon fired upon the open net before he could blink, before Broadneck defender Albie Palsa could get over to cover.
“Looking back on it, it probably wasn’t the best shot,” Moran said. “But adrenaline just took over.”
But he knew as well as anyone that a two-goal lead meant little when it came to the Bruins. Down 5-3 going into the fourth quarter, Broadneck didn’t even need a full minute to rally back.
Just after Hicks used the first faceoff to nip the gap to 5-4, it was as if Eli Harris cleared everyone from his path. The senior scooped the faceoff, scorched 20 yards down and launched the equalizer.
“They capitalized on our mistakes and cleared the ball well,” Zichelli said. “We knew we had to try to get the next 50-50 ball.”
After the win, as they chewed pizza and blasted music, the Falcons put their warmup shirts back on: gray, with the initials “KZ” in the middle. Zichelli had asked his players to wear them in the playoffs for luck. It’d been nearly two years since his son Kevin died.
“As we’re coming up on the anniversary, I appreciate the kids — they showed a lot of empathy, and it’s a huge deal to me,” Zichelli said.
Severna Park — 2 0 3 1 — 6
Broadneck — 3 0 0 2 — 5
Goals: SP — Moran 2, Sullivan 2, Fish 1, Reed 1; BN — Levicki 2, McCassie 1, Hicks 1, Harris 1. Assists: SP — Grizzle 2, Moran 1; BN — Stewart 1, McGill 1. Saves: SP — Winship 11; BN — Tettemer 9