Catonsville boys lacrosse scores 10 straight goals to take charge early at Franklin in 14-7 win
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The path is much different for the Catonsville boys lacrosse team this year after enjoying two straight undefeated regular seasons that ended with trips to the state tournament.
Younger and much less experienced, the Comets are well aware they are a work in progress this spring and are savoring the challenge of meeting the program’s lofty standard.
Taking a 4-4 record into Wednesday’s game at Franklin, the two-time defending Baltimore County champions showed significant strides are being made with an impressive 10-goal run in the first half that stamped a sturdy 14-7 win over the Indians.
Eric Kaplan paced the attack with two goals and two assists; Nate Fox dominated the faceoff “X” in the pivotal first half and goalie Gabe Wallman, who replaced All-Metro standout and current Maryland starter Brian Ruppel, had seven saves.
All three are senior returnees who are also providing needed leadership after the Comets graduated 15 seniors last season. Catonsville (5-4) improved to 4-0 in Baltimore County, while Franklin (4-3) fell to 3-1.
“This has been a lot of fun because I’m getting to play more of a leadership role, and these guys want it really bad,” Kaplan said. “I think we work harder than a lot of teams, and that’s why we’re going to be able to take the next step. We’re building gradually, but it’s been kind of like breaking in for the younger guys and, by the end of the year, they’re going to be veterans.”
After allowing the game’s opening goal Wednesday, the Comets found an unstoppable gear late in the first quarter that extended deep into the second. They rattled off 10 straight goals with long pole junior John Gorski scoring twice, Wess winning a faceoff and scoring, and Wallman making three of his saves during the stretch.
When Kaplan took a pass from Wade Davis and made it 10-1 late in the first half, the Comets had made their statement.
“I was proud of our effort. We’re just working on the details and trying to do the little stuff right,” Catonsville coach KR Schultz said. “We have a lot of younger guys this season with a great senior staff and we’re trying to meld it together. It’s a different journey.”
Wallman and Gorski talked about their lofty plans recently.
“We were talking about how cool it would be to get back to [states], and that’s our goal,” Wallman said. “We have a lot of young guys that have been around the program and have played lacrosse for a long time and we just need them to take the next step and they are taking the next step. We need to come together and all take the next step as a team collectively.”
To the Indians’ credit, they didn’t hang their heads. Instead, they ended the Comets’ string of goals with three straight of their own in the final two-plus minutes of the first half to cut the lead to 10-4. Catonsville outscored them, 4-3, in the second half.
With Adam Komenski (one goal, two assists), Ryan Ho (two goals) and Emerson Mansur (one goal, one assist) doing most of the work on attack and goalie Andrew Ruffman making 13 saves — all of whom are underclassmen — they left the field with positives to build on.
“For us, I told the guys we showed a lot of fight,” Franklin coach Anthony Burgos said. “We got some young guys and they’ll learn from this experience, but I think, overall, what I saw today is that we kept fighting. We clawed ourselves back into it and made them keep playing.”
Both teams return to Baltimore County play Monday at 5:15 p.m. with Catonsville hosting Hereford and Franklin traveling to Dulaney.
Goals: C — Eveleth 3, Kaplan 2, Gorski 2, Fox, Kennedy 2, D. Ritter, M. Ritter, Rivera, Wess; F — Allen, Burris, Ho 2, Komenski, Luria, Manser
Assists: C — Davis, Kaplan 2, Kennedy; F — Komenski 2, Manser
Saves: C — G. Wallman 7; F — Ruffhead 13
Half: 10-4, C
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