Hereford boys lacrosse defends Baltimore County title with 9-3 win at No. 12 Towson
Two weeks ago, Hereford boys lacrosse left the field after a loss against rival Towson in disappointment.
Junior goalie Luke Barnett thought he should have made more saves. The Bulls midfield should have scooped up more ground balls, and the attack could have been more patient and precise.
Fortunately for the Bulls, they had another chance against the Generals on Monday in the Baltimore County championship game. Hereford left no doubt this time.
Barnett made 12 saves, faceoff specialist Cole Wallner was sensational in the circle, and JP Revitte sparked the attack with a two-goal, three-assist performance for the Bulls, who took hold early and never let go in a thorough 9-3 win at No. 12 Towson for its second straight county title.
“I think we had a really good couple weeks after we lost to them (12-5 on April 23) and it stayed in the back of our heads,” Revitte said. “We came into this game knowing we had to set the tempo, we said it was our heartbeat and we had to play under our conditions. Just a huge shoutout to everybody up and down the field. I think we played a great game.”
The Bulls (9-3) got goals from Brady Manakil and Jordan Bush on their first two possessions. Leading 3-0 with 10 seconds to play in the first quarter, Barnett heaved a long pass the length of the field that found Ian Smith, who made it 4-0 with two seconds left.
After the Generals (11-2) finally broke through on Luke Richardson’s man-advantage goal early in the second quarter, Barnett made two huge saves to keep it at 4-1.
“A three-goal lead is a lot different than a two-goal game, and just making those saves got the defense going, got me going, and once we get really get hot, started pushing it and it helped get our offense going,” he said.
The Bulls ended the first half with the next three goals. Revitte made it 5-1 before Fin McGee and Brenden Kittner added goals. The Bulls simply weren’t handing out any momentum on Monday.
“I told them we spent the last two months finding this much energy and intensity,” Hereford coach Kyle Leppert said, “and now we’re trying to control and channel it, so it was good.”
Kittner finished with two goals and two assists, and Manakil added two goals and an assist for the winners, who killed off three Towson man-advantage situations. The Generals, who also got goals from Jackson Kanzler, Zach Hochrein and Hudson Arrup, never string together two in a row.
“We told the guys the records were out the window and what we did in that first game didn’t matter. We know they have a really good program and knew it was going to be a war and it just wasn’t our night,” Towson coach Phil Rossetti said. “They won the ground ball battle, they crushed the time of possession and the goalie played outstanding. We just have to learn from it and regroup because the state playoffs start and we can’t hang our heads. So it’s back to work tomorrow.”
Both teams open the region playoffs on Friday in their respective classifications. In Class 2A North Region I play, Hereford hosts Eastern Tech at 4 p.m. In Class 3A North Region I, Towson will host the Catonsville-Franklin winner at 5 p.m.
Hereford — 4 3 2 0 — 9
Towson — 0 1 1 1 — 3
Goals: H — Revitte 2, Kittner 2, Manankil 2, Bush, Smith, McGee; T — Richardson, Kanzler, Arrup.
Assists: H — Revitte 3, Kittner 2, Barnett, Manankil; T — Tyler, Z. Hochrein.
Saves: H — Barnett 12; T — A. Hochrein 3.