Boys Lacrosse Preview

With Severna Park and Broadneck looking to continue their dominant streaks with experienced rosters and Severn and Spalding piecing together young and competitive rosters, the 2024 boys lacrosse season promises to be entertaining.

Severna Park

The Falcons are coming off an excellent 2023 campaign where they went 16-4 in the regular season before cruising through the playoffs to a Maryland Class 3A state championship against Mount Hebron High School. The victory marked Severna Park’s seventh consecutive championship win.

Over the offseason, Severna Park lost all of their starting defenders to graduation and will be turning to senior leaders, like Jonathan Mazzola and Upton Young, to pick up the slack. Seniors John Burkhardt, Nolan Grizzle and Tucker Moran will take charge of the midfield unit, but expect significant contributions from sophomores Duke Sealey and William Mazcko as well. Sophomore Davis Bates will take faceoffs. In goal, Severna Park has two strong options in senior Calvin Winship and junior Hastings Fava.

On the other side of the ball, the Falcons will have a veteran offense this year, with most of last season’s starters returning. Attackmen Jack Fish and Timmy Sullivan join Burkhardt as efficient scorers who are looking to keep the offense high-powered and aggressive.

Fish, Burkhardt and Grizzle are also expected to step into leadership roles this season for the young roster. For Fish, it’s all about setting expectations to do the little things right.

“In our offseason workouts, if a player has his foot over the line, that rep doesn’t count,” Fish said.

Setting a culture of accountability and responsibility has been a key point of emphasis for the Falcons, as they believe it translates into a winning mentality.

Severna Park will have a relatively new coaching staff this season. First-year head coach Bob Zichelli will be joined by SPHS alumni Randy Waugh and Merrick Wood. Waugh and Wood will run the offense and defense, respectively. Although it will be his first season as head coach for Severna Park, Zichelli is no stranger to the school; all seven of his children played lacrosse at Severna Park. The only returning coach this year is Jack Thomas, who will help run the offense.

Broadneck

Broadneck finished the 2023 season with a spotless 20-0 record and a Maryland Class 4A state championship. Head coach Jeffrey McGuire said the team is looking to build on their success last season through strong team bonds and changes to their game plan.

Although the team lost some key scorers on offense and their starting goalie, McGuire is confident in his players. It is an upperclassman-heavy squad, with 18 seniors playing for the Bruins this season. Notable returners include Eli Harris, Braden McCassie, Tyler Hicks, Jed Pelicanno, Graham Hartman, Tanner Boone and Albie Palsa. New starting goalie Matthew Tettemer is set to take over and bring a competitive edge to the team. McGuire believes the experience of the senior class will play a crucial role in continuing their dominating streak of wins.

In terms of their schedule for the year, McGuire said his team looks forward to continuing their rivalry with Severna Park. Additionally, the Bruins will play some tough teams in Madison, Virginia, and Yorktown, Virginia, to better prepare themselves for league play.

“We live by the (term) ‘edge,’ making sure we are doing more than just the two hours of practice a day and gaining an advantage over our opponents in other ways,” McGuire said.

Severn

Despite a hot 8-0 start last season, Severn finished 12-6, narrowly missing out on the MIAA A-Conference playoffs. This season, the Admirals have a balanced mix of underclassmen and upperclassmen and are looking to get over the playoff hump.

After losing top goal scorers Jacob Todd and Trey Dring in the offseason, the Admirals want to take a more balanced scoring approach this year.

“Everyone is everywhere,” said head coach Joe Christie. “This year, the attitude is that kids are going to step up and that they want the opportunity (to score).”

Captains Jackson Barroll and Andrew Beard, seniors Carter Johnson and Chase Hallam, junior Tanner Huber and sophomore Sam Long are all expected to contribute heavily to the offense this year. Additionally, the Admirals will get a boost from faceoff specialist Reid Gills, a four-year varsity starter whose injury last season made it tough for Severn to stay in games.

On the defensive side, the Admirals return captain Aidan Schenck, senior Bo Fowler, and junior Casey Gattie, while captain Jack Read will man the goal.

On the coaching staff, Christie is joined by second-year offensive coordinator Corey Bolkin and first-year defensive coordinator and goalie coach Jack Morton. Additionally, Eddie McKinnon and former defensive coordinator Taylor Burns are assistant coaches.

Given their youth, Christie is looking to give his team some experience in their out-of-conference games this season. Severn will play stiff competition in preparation for the MIAA A-Conference, including St. Albans from D.C., St. Anne’s-Belfield from Virginia, Landon (a top 10 team in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference), and two top Texas schools in Highland Park and the Episcopal School of Dallas.

“I think how we’ve scheduled this year is important in setting us up for that [playoff] run and making us better prepared for what we will have to face,” Christie said.

Archbishop Spalding

After a 6-12 season (4-8 in conference) where they missed the MIAA A-Conference playoffs, Spalding is looking to capitalize on the experience their young team gained last year to make a playoff push. Although the last season didn’t go the way they wanted, late season wins against Severn and Mount Saint Joseph have provided Spalding with momentum going into the next season.

The Cavaliers lost valuable players in Ben Ruiz and TJ Poknis, but first-year head coach Evan Hockel expects senior captains Jameson Coffman, Ben Duffy and Connor Wilbur to spearhead the team at midfield.

Hockel has been with Spalding since 2016, when he coached the junior varsity team, leading the squad to a championship in 2018. For the past three seasons, he has been an assistant coach on varsity.

Additionally, junior long stick middie Robby Hopper, faceoff specialist Ryan Crisswell, midfielder Diego Garza and sophomore attackman Brady Mollot are all expected to make significant contributions to what is shaping up to be a talented and young roster.

“Spalding is tied for first in the country for junior players committed to varsity with 12 Division I commits,” Hockel said.

Players are committed to an impressive array of schools, ranging from the University of Virginia to the United States Naval Academy.

The Spalding Cavaliers will have a tough schedule this year, playing out-of-conference teams from all over the nation, from Virginia to Florida to Texas. Hockel hopes to give his young squad experience in these matchups to prepare them for in-conference play. As for their MIAA matchups, Hockel said the team is eager to play nearby rivals St. Mary’s and Severn while building upon their late-season triumphs from last year.