Calvert Hall won five straight faceoffs and scored on all five possessions in the first 3:16 of the second half to pull away from Mount St. Joseph for a 16-7 boys lacrosse victory on Senior Day at Calvert Hall.
The Cardinals (10-3, 3-2 in the MIAA A Conference) led 6-4 at halftime Tuesday, but senior Ryan Powers won the first four faceoffs and that led to goals from Jason Brown (3 goals), Austin Glab, JT Buliosi (2 goals) and Timmy Kelly (4 goals, 2 assists).
"In the first half I was a little off the whistle," Powers said. "I wasn't on it right away, but in the second half I just came out and I was right on it. I got the first fastbreak right away and just went on from there."
Mount St. Joe (8-5, 2-3 league) was led by junior Bryan Costabile (3 goals) and senior Johnny Norton (2 goals).
St. Joe started the game by grabbing a 2-0 lead on an unassisted goal by Costabile and score from Norton after sharp passes from Nick Willertz to Shawn Carter, who fed Norton.
Trailing 2-0, Kelly, a University of North Carolina recruit, took control by scoring the next three goals.
"You've got to control their playmakers and a guy like that wants the ball in his stick," Mount St. Joe coach Stephen Berger said. "He did a good job of kind of pulling them into it and firing up their 'O.'"
It's not something Calvert Hall coach Bryan Kelly hasn't seen before.
"He is the engine that makes us go," Kelly said. "He's a senior and he's a gifted and talented player, so it was good for us to have him and his leadership is huge. He's a special talent and he makes us coaches look smart."
Timmy Kelly is also the sixth nephew Bryan has coached.
Even more familiar to the coach is freshman Jacob Kelly, Bryan's son. He scored two goals and had two assists for the Cardinals.
"Offensively, we did a nice job," Kelly said, "but I was really proud of our defense because they are just so young, to hold that team to seven goals is a great accomplishment because we are starting two sophomores and a freshman."
That defense featured sophomores Jed Manning and Jonathan Kohles and freshman George Walsh in front of junior keeper Joseph McSorley (13 saves).
"That was a really big win for us because they are a really good team," Kelly said. "It was important for us to play well."
The difference was the first three minutes of the second half.
"We did emphasize at halftime, if we get the ball we can score, so we had to do a better job on the wings picking up the ground ball," Kelly said. "I thought they did a better job in the first half and I thought in the second half we did a much better job."
St. Joe didn't get the ball over midfield for the first 4:20 of the second half.
"At the end of the day we didn't have the ball much in the second half," Berger said. "When we finally got it, it was after a five- or six-goal stretch and that hurts."
The Gaels were coming off a big win over Gilman and they have another tough test on Friday when they host defending Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champion Boys' Latin.
"The good news is, you learn more from a loss and we get to play again on Friday," Berger said. "There are no breaks in this game and there are no breaks in this league. You've got to show up every Tuesday for 48 minutes. You can't show up for a half or a quarter and that's the difference-maker between the teams that win and the teams that lose."
Scoring
Calvert Hall
Goals: Timmy Kelly 4, Jason Brown 3, JT Bugliosi 2, Jacob Kelly 2, Luke Ciccarone 1, Jack Kinnear 1, Austin Glab 1, Omari DeBerry 1, Ryan Powers 1,
Assists: Timmy Kelly 2, Jacon Kelly 2 Bugliosi 2, DeBerry 1, Connor Pearce 1, Michael Fanshaw 1.
Mount St. Joe
Goals: Bryan Costabile 3, Johnny Norton 2, Nick Willertz 1, Tyler Snyder 1.
Assists: Shawn Carter 2, Jimmy Lucas 1