HIGH SCHOOL LACROSSE
Towson’s late flurry seals win
Balanced attack leads to victory against Dulaney
Towson senior Mitch Boudreau won 20 of 21 faceoffs and the Generals (5-2) scored the final five goals of the second half to earn an 11-6 victory over Dulaney (5-2) in a showdown of rivals at Towson University’s Johnny Unitas Stadium.
Leighton Bechdel and Mason Hickman led the Generals with three goals each and Max Burkett added two goals. Grant Kuehn, James Dugan and Rory Bateman also scored for Towson, while Robert Welling added an assist.
Dulaney’s scoring came from Justin White and RJ Freerick (two goals each) and Johnny McGrain and John Schmidt (one each). Cullen Grogan added two assists, and Ethan Anderson, Tucker Plasse and McGrain had one each.
Boudreau won all 13 faceoffs in the first half and the Generals built a 3-0 lead on unassisted goals by Bateman, Bechdel and Kuehn in the first 130 seconds.
Dulaney rallied to tie after a fast-break score by McGrain, a feed from McGrain to Schmidt, and assist from Grogan to Feerick with 1 minute, 43 seconds left in the quarter.
In the second quarter, Boudreau continued to dominate on faceoffs, winning all six in the quarter.
“I was just excited to play,” Boudreau said. “I was just pumped.”
Towson coach Shawn Burke certainly admired his faceoff specialist’s work.
“That was very impressive,” Burke said.
The Generals again followed Boudreau’s lead by scoring three unanswered tallies, one by Bechdel and two by Hickman. Hickman’s first score of the quarter came from just outside the crease, after a nifty rebound off a shot by Dugan that was saved by Dulaney’s Brennan McCaffray.
Dulaney again fought back from the three-goal deficit as they closed the second quarter with goals by Frederick and White.
Trailing 6-5, Dulaney won its only faceoff of the game to start the second half,when Boudreau was called for a ward, and the Lions capitalized.
White scored off Plasse’s helper and it was tied 6-6 with less than two minutes gone in the second half.
The Generals broke the deadlock with a goal by Burkett with 7:31 left and they never trailed again. Dugan, Burkett and Bechdel closed out the quarter with goals for the Generals and Hickman added one late in the fourth quarter.
Towson’s defense of goalie Wilson Turner and defenders Ryan Tyler, Teagan Hersh, Carson Reed and Matt Jahries held the Lions scoreless for the final 22:36 and the Lion defenders spent most of the time chasing the Generals.
That effort was not lost on Dulaney coach Kyle Fiat.
“My guys, I’m so proud of them and the effort that they gave to be able to be in a position that they could compete in a game like this,” he said. “I think the effort was there the entire game.”
Burke also appreciated the enthusiasm of the Towson fans.
“It was a most impressive performance by the student body,” Burke said. “This crowd was just unbelievable tonight and there is no doubt our guys fed off of it.”