Calvert Hall Ends St. Paul's Playoff Run

St. Paul’s boys lacrosse ran into a buzz saw Tuesday night in the MIAA Championship semifinal game against Calvert Hall.

Cardinal’s junior attackman Ryan Brown scored six goals, four of them in the first half. The Cardinals (17-1) defeated the Crusaders 11-4 to move on to the MIAA championship game on Friday. 

St. Paul’s had to battle the Cardinals right from the outset as Calvert Hall sophomore Johnny Kelly connected with Kelton Black on the first score of the game. The Crusaders responded with a Spencer Parks goal 9:58 into the first quarter. 

Then the Ryan Brown shooting clinic began. The Johns Hopkins commit punched in four unanswered goals to put the Cardinals ahead 5-1 with 10:55 left in the first half. Brown’s second and third goals were scored in a 28-second span.

“A very skilled player, a very good stick,” St. Paul’s coach Rick Brocato said of Brown’s play. “He has good field sense, I thought we didn’t put enough body on him.”

The Calvert Hall defense was very aggressive throughout the game and clamped down anytime St. Paul’s’ attack tried to find an open lane. The groundball and faceoff battles were key stats in this game as the Cardinals dominated in both areas. Calvert Hall scooped up 24 groundballs while the Crusaders had 22. And the faceoff battle was the most glaring stat as Calvert hall went 14-for-4. 

“They played the same way they usually do,” St. Paul’s attackman Taylor Michel said. "They are very aggressive and have three very good defensemen. They did a really good job today.”

Brocato echoed Michel’s thoughts on the Calvert Hall defense and how they did a good job keeping the Crusaders off the scoreboard. “They really have the sticks and the kids,” Brocato said. “They took away all of our emotion, all of our flow offensively. They are putting themselves in position to win the championship.”

Calvert Hall opened up the second half with even more offensive power as Brown scored two more goals to lead the Cardinals to the victory. 

The Crusaders (13-8) just didn’t have the defensive power and momentum heading into the playoffs this season, which St. Paul’s had a year ago when the Crusaders won the MIAA title. Brocato said his seniors should hold their heads high and be proud of the season. 

“We have had a great run, our seniors have had an amazing run these last two years,” Brocato said. “I’m really proud of our guys. They fought tooth and nail. We have been banged up and playing with adversity. With one championship [last season] and a final four [appearance] this year, they have a lot to be proud of.”