#1 Stevenson Grounds Seahawks in CAC Semis

Owings Mills, Md. – The 2011 campaign for St. Mary's came to an end Wednesday afternoon in the semifinals of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament, as the fifth-seeded Seahawks suffered a 16-7 setback to No. 1 Stevenson.

Senior midfielder Will Bell (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) and junior attacker J.P. Lennon (Huntington, N.Y./St. Anthony's) each scored twice to pace the Seahawk offense while senior Chris Becraft (Rockville, Md./Good Counsel) added a goal and an assist as St. Mary's wrapped up the season with a 6-9 overall record.

Stevenson claimed a 3-0 lead after the first period behind goals from Neal Barthelme (Towson, Md./Dulaney), Tony Rossi (Towson, Md./Calvert Hall), and Richie Ford (Baltimore, Md./Towson).

The Mustangs raced out to a 7-0 advantage as Ray Witte (Annapolis, Md./St. Peter and Paul) and Ford scored in a 10-second span just 17 seconds into the start of the second quarter. However, first-year midfielder Ben Love (Sparks, Md./McDonogh) and senior attackman Dennis Rosson (Severna Park, Md./Severn) broke the ice for St. Mary's with back-to-back goals in under a minute to cut the deficit to 5-2 at 12:56.

After goals by Jake Stocksdale (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) at 12:43 and Justin Lea (Elkridge, Md./Mt. St. Joseph) at 7:22, Lennon completed a pass from senior midfielder Bobby Cooke (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) for the Seahawks' third goal at 5:02. Stevenson headed into intermission with a 10-3 lead following three unanswered goals.

Stevenson started the third stanza with another three straight goals to push its lead to 13-3 before Becraft and Bell got on the board for the Seahawks for a 13-5 Mustang lead at 4:08. Stevenson scored with 1:40 left in the quarter to head into the fourth period with a nine-goal margin.

Scoring was even in the fourth quarter as Stevenson scored the first two of the stanza followed by goals from Bell and Lennon for the 16-7 final.

The Windsor (Towson, Md./St. Paul's) brothers led the defensive effort for St. Mary's as John, the senior, forced a team-best four turnovers while Peter, the junior, contributed a team-high four ground balls.

In goal, junior Stu Wheeler (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul's) started the game and picked up eight saves and one ground ball in the first half, while senior Pat Simpson (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) had seven stops and a ground ball in the final 30 minutes.

2011-04-20