MANCHESTER — John Piper's two-year plan appears to be playing off.
Manchester Valley's boys lacrosse coach guided his team to seven wins a year ago, with the melding of North Carroll's incoming players and the Mavericks' current varsity crop. Perhaps borrowing from the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers' famous motto, Piper implored his players to trust the process.
Piper had a feeling the Mavs could become a better program with the combination of the two neighboring schools under the right circumstances. As of right now, it seems as if the ninth-year coach was onto something.
Man Valley won for the fifth time in six games by holding off South Carroll 11-9 on Thursday, led by a balanced offensive attack and a veteran unit.
Allen Thomas, Riley Larrimore, Brandon Smith, and Cody Upman each had two goals for the Mavs (8-6, 4-2 in the county). Thomas, Larrimore, and Smith are seniors who play attack and midfield; Upman is a junior midfielder — they're all experienced players contributing on a team that finished third in the Carroll County Athletic League standings.
"Knowing that we had six or seven seniors last year, we knew we were getting everybody back," Piper said. "We're just trying to build that culture and get the kids to bond and do all of that … it has been tremendous."
The Mavs kept the Cavaliers (5-9, 2-4) at bay Thursday even though the visitors battled and trimmed MV's lead to one goal twice in the second half.
Freshman midfielder Matt McNally's goal to open the fourth quarter brought South Carroll to within one at 9-8. But the home team answered with a goal from Upman at the 8:36 mark, and a second from sophomore Chad Schaffer with 4:58 to go.
Schaffer, a defender, scored after he took a clear straight downfield and whipped in a hard, bouncing shot past goalie Grayson Rouchard that ignited his teammates players and their fans.
Lorenzo Brandani found the net for the Cavs after that, but only 29 seconds remained.
Adam MCarty, a junior attackman, paced SC with three goals while Brandani, a senior attackman, netted two. Senior midfielder Jacob Snell had a goal and two assists. Rouchard shined with five of South Carroll's eight saves, four of which came in the third quarter to keep the game close.
MV junior Owen McCallum, another of Piper's versatile players, had three assists with Larrimore handing out two.
The Mavericks celebrated Senior Night before the game started, and sent their 11 seniors off with a win in the regular-season finale. Man Valley has been on a roll of late, with four consecutive county victories after opening the spring with losses to Westminster and Century.
The Mavericks also edged Linganore, a tough Class 3A West Region foe, 13-12 on Tuesday behind a game-winning goal from Smith with less than 2 minutes to play.
Piper pointed that that victory, and Thursday's win over a state finalist from last season, as games that can help lead the program to a higher level.
"The guys came with a lot better attitude," Piper said. "They understood where we were coming from as a coaching staff, and they bought in wholeheartedly. And early on when we were struggling with some games where we thought we should have won, they understood we were working on that process.
"Just fine-tuning and getting better for what's coming up."
Goals: SC-Adam McCarty 3, Lorenzo Brandani 2, Dylan Wilson, Matt McNally, Jacob Snell, Benjamin Hart; MV-Allen Thomas 2, Riley Larrimore 2, Brandon Smith 2, Cody Upman 2, Owen McCallum, Adam Bien, Chad Schaffer.
Assists: SC-Snell 2, McCarty, McNally, Wilson, Dylan O'Neill; MV-McCallum 3, Larrimore 2, Bien, Upman.
Saves: SC-8 (Grayson Rouchard 5, Jakob Janusz 2, Evan Hock 1); MV-5 (Ben Barnes).
Halftime: MV, 7-4.
JV result: MV, 8-7.
pat.stoetzer@carrollcountytimes.com
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