Severna Park Boys Lacrosse Prevails Over Broadneck To Reach State Quarterfinals

In an abnormally low-scoring game for both sides, the Severna Park boys lacrosse team defeated Broadneck 6-5 on June 11, clinching the 4A East Region II title and another trip to the state tournament.

The latest edition of the Ritchie Highway rivalry lived up to the hype of past contests, as both sides played with high intensity from the get-go. Parker Sealey’s fourth-quarter goal gave the Falcons a two-goal lead, which they held on to through the final buzzer.

“We knew they were going to junk it up on defense,” Severna Park head coach Travis Loving said. “We really shared the ball. We had six goals and five different guys scored. It’s encouraging.”

See more photos from the game.

The Bruins opened the scoring after a back and forth first quarter, with Kyle Pierce breaking open and finding the back of the net. Moments later, Severna Park both tied it and took the lead after a Kyle Griffith goal, followed by a Colin Shadowens faceoff win that ended with a goal from Joaquin Villagomez, to put the Falcons up 2-1.

After a hotly contested first quarter, things remained the same in the second, as Aiden Doyle netted a goal for the Bruins to tie things up at two goals apiece. Both sides got one more in the quarter and headed into halftime all even at 3-3.

With Broadneck’s game plan based around keeping the dangerous Shadowens on the sideline, the slowed pace continued in the second half, as each team broke off a goal in the third, to keep the game knotted up.

“When [Broadneck] is possessing the ball, we have to do the same,” Shadowens said. “Coach Loving told us all week, ‘Possess the ball, possess the ball, possess the ball.’ If we’re winning faceoffs and we hold the ball, we can play that chess game with them.”

With less than nine minutes to go in the game, Severna Park midfielder Connor Koistinen wound up and snuck one past Bruins’ goalie Colin Gray to give the Falcons the lead for good. Moments later, Sealey added his goal as insurance. Pierce added his second goal of the game for the Bruins, cutting the lead to one with under four minutes to go.

Following an illegal stick penalty called on Shadowens, Broadneck was also called for an illegal stick, so the two sides finished the contest five-on-five, with the Falcons looking to run off the remaining time. They did so, clinching the victory and the 4A East region over the rival Bruins.

“The rivalry, the best thing about it is they like each other,” Loving said. “They want to beat each other, but they like each other, they hang out with each other, they’re friends. It’s kind of like Army-Navy, you respect each other.”