Matt Tompkins has put an end to the Stevenson men's lacrosse team's search for a third attackman.
In only his second start of the season, Tompkins scored four of his game-high five goals in the first half to help power the No. 8 Mustangs to a 16-6 thumping of visiting York (8-6) in Division III play before an announced 517 at Mustang Stadium on Friday night.
Junior attackman Pat Candon had a game-best six points, finishing with two goals and four assists. Junior attackman Stephen Banick posted three goals and an assist, and senior midfielder Tony Rossi (Calvert Hall) added four assists as Stevenson won for the fifth time in its last six games to improve to 8-4.
But the biggest storyline was Tompkins, who played in just three games during his sophomore season because of a back injury. His first start of the year came in Tuesday night's 20-2 rout of Commonwealth Conference foe Hood; he posted a goal and three assists. But Friday, the Mustangs were facing a Spartans defense that had surrendered just 7.7 goals per game.
Tompkins scored four of the team's first seven goals, completing his hat trick just 3:30 into the second quarter and adding his fourth 89 seconds later.
Stevenson had started senior Paul Danko (Gilman) and sophomore Tyler Fuhrman as the third attackman, but Tompkins showed good chemistry with Candon and Banick.
"I know what I'm doing down there," said Tompkins, who was an attackman in high school before shifting to midfielder in his first two years with the Mustangs. "It's great to play with Stephen and Pat because they dodge so well up the sides and I'm able to lose my guy and they're able to feed me. So it's working well."
Coach Paul Cantabene, who later called Tompkins the third starter until further notice, said the junior has brought a level of consistency to the position.
"Danko would have a good game here and Tyler would have a good game, but we couldn't get that game to game," Cantabene said. "Matt's such a smart guy, and his IQ is so high, and he knows how to follow slides and he's great finishing on the inside. We just thought we'd give him a chance. … I think he's really given us a boost. He's played well in the two games he started and [been] doing some good things, and today, he got off to a great start. We were going to rotate Danko in there a little bit more, but he was playing so well that I just left him in."
Senior Justin Buonomo won nine of 12 faceoffs to help the Mustangs go 15-for-26 and dictate time of possession.
Stevenson's defense was just as overpowering against York's vaunted attack. Senior Tyler Hutson (Winters Mill), who came into the game with 32 goals and 22 assists, was limited to two assists by senior defenseman Callum Robinson. (Hutson did score in the third quarter, but while while Robinson was running back from the offensive side of the field.)
Junior goalie Connor Skeen (Towson), who made four stops in his first start of the season against Hood on Tuesday, was forced to make just seven saves.
"I think it's more reflective of the team's play and the D," Skeen said. "We rode hard, and the D played amazing. They just didn't have that many good looks, and we got the shots that we wanted."
The Spartans were paced offensively by freshman attackman Dillon Hannan (Catonsville), who scored three goals, and junior attackman Andrew Gamble, who had two goals and an assist. Junior goalie Caleb Abney (Fallston) stopped 11 shots for York, which lost for the second time in its last three games..