Heights (MD) Lacrosse Trip to North Carolina Results in 1st Victory

On Sunday, March 2nd, Coach Boh Mitchell and his group departed from The Heights by vans to Durham, North Carolina. They managed to get in a practice that day after having to make a Dick’s Sporting Goods run to buy a goal since the nearby field complex conveniently had none. That night the boys settled into their hotel which had an exceptional variety of food throughout the week. Pair that with a nearby Chick-Fil-A, Target, Aldi and a Sheetz, and the boys were stocking up on food. Traditional head shaving took place that night as well. Monday consisted of two practices at different fields, where the boys were going 100 percent to prepare for their matchup the next day against Cardinal Gibbons, a top team in North Carolina who had multiple D-1 committed players, compared to The Heights who did not and was seen as the underdog in this matchup. Although the Cavs do not have many verbally committed players, Owen James (Sr. D) is as good as any defender in the country, and with other D-1 caliber players such as Riley Shiner (So., M), Brendan James (So., A), Grant Lanham (Sr. A) and myself (Sr., D) among others, the boys were ready as ever to make a national statement on the road. The game preparation started the night before, with players and coaches reviewing plays and film. When gametime came, guys had some jitters, but none were like Seamus Seaman (So., G), the mid-year transfer from Good Counsel who came in after senior goalie Chase Stichmann went down in December with a season-ending shoulder injury. In his first-ever high school minutes, Gibbons peppered him early,with the score 2-2 after the 1st quarter. After a passionate huddle talk from defensive coordinator Rich Bartozzi, Seaman and the defense took a stand, holding the opposing offense to 1 point through the next 2 quarters, and with Brendan James, Shiner, and Luke Chambers (Sr., M) cooking offensively, the Cavs were up 8-3 midway through the 4th quarter. It was at this point due to questionable officiating and a couple of defensive breakdowns that Gibbons would score 4 goals in 2 minutes and almost come back to win the game. With 30 seconds left, the Cavs defense, on their heels, were able to hold them off, with Seaman saving the final shot attempt, winning the game 8-7 in a hostile environment. Seaman finished the game with a sensational 64% save percentage. To contrast, Heights alum Tommy Gross currently has a save percentage of 56% at St. Joe’s University. 

Owen James and Joe Mitchell celebrate after a goal vs. Norfolk Academy.

Wednesday and Thursday were light, as everyone was feeling good about the win but physically sick as well thanks to a certain sophomore infecting everyone earlier in the week. On Wednesday, the few people who woke up on time went to Ash Wednesday mass, and in the afternoon the team headed to the University of North Carolina to watch a top 10 team in the Tar Heels go full tilt in practice before their match against Hofstra later that week. Some players from the DMV recognized our school name and Coach Boh, who coached some of them on his travel teams. On Thursday, after practice, the boys headed to Frankie’s Fun House, where thousands of tickets were racked up by Chambers, Joe Mitchell, and Mattias Bunai, thanks in part to a generous ticket donation by Asst. Coach John O’Beirne. On Friday, March 7th, the boys had practice in the morning, and then headed back up home in the late afternoon. The boys rolled to a strong 8-0 start with wins against top teams in Florida and Ohio, and secured their first league win vs. St. Mary’s Ryken on Friday, March 28th before facing a tough Paul VI team on Tuesday, April 1st, where a lackluster performance resulted in the teams' first loss of the season. The Cavs look to face Bishop McNamara (MD), Yorktown (VA) and Bishop Ireton (VA) before an elite matchup against Gonzaga (DC) on Friday, April 11th.