Century boys lacrosse gets revenge, defeats Winters Mill, 9-7, in regional semifinal
Anyone looking at the 2A West Region I bracket was well aware of No. 2 seed Winters Mill. Armed with two of the most dangerous attackers in the county, slowing the Falcons offense down looked like a tall task on paper, but a necessary one for any team looking to make it out of the region.
Century was built for the task. It earned this year’s Carroll County championship for a reason.
Unfazed by a regular-season loss to the Falcons, the Knights went into Winters Mill with a plan and executed to near perfection, slowing the explosive attack down and hanging on for a 9-7 win in the regional semifinals Friday night.
“Super tough win,” Century coach Jeremey Benson said. “That’s a tough team and we did a good job at staying composed.”
It was the Falcons that need to keep their composure as the Knights jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead. Moving the ball and using offense as their best defense, the Knights not only kept the ball out of the Falcons’ possession early on, but they also made the most out of their extended possessions with some high quality shots.
“We knew we had the lead, but we wanted to keep it calm,” Benson said. “So we moved the ball and just kept passing it around.”
Three different Knights scored in the first quarter with two goals from Will Koenig leading the way. Jacob Summers was active, as was Mike Burns, as the county champions grew more and more confident and electric with every goal.
The catalyst for the Knights’ confidence wasn’t the offensive play, but rather the elite effort from the defensive side of the ball. Jacob Ushmirsky was tremendous for the Knights in goal, his grey sweatpants became practically unrecognizable after diving all over the wet and muddy field to save as many shots as he could. He finished the first half only giving up three goals despite the Falcons attempting dozens of shots, many of which found themselves in the stick of the young goalie.
“I trust my defense, I trust myself,” Ushmirsky said. “I was nervous coming in, but I held my own.”
The Falcons eventually found their groove offensively towards the end of the second quarter and into the first moments of the third quarter after scoring four straight goals to tie the game at 5.
But it was short lived stalemate as a 3-0 Century run quickly gave the lead and the momentum back to the county champs.
“I kept letting them know that we were in a good spot,” Benson said. “We’ve had moments like this before so our key was to stay calm and stay composed.”
Winters Mill made one last run, taking advantage of a man-up situation and scoring two goals in less than two minutes late in the fourth quarter, but it was to no avail as one final Ushmirsky save halted all comeback hopes.
“It was probably my best game I played all season,” he said.
The Knights put the final nail in the coffin when Brad Brown found Summers for the dagger goal to put the game out of reach and give Summers the hat trick.
Despite the solid offensive numbers, Benson knows he has a defensive unit, anchored by Ushmirsky in goal that can lead the team deep into the playoffs this year.
“We got a bunch of smart defenders that were throughout the whole game communicating and making sure we’re on the same page,” Benson said. “I’m really proud of how they came together.”
2A West Region I semifinal: Century 9, Winters Mill 7
C- Jacob Summers (3), Mikey Burns (2), Will Koeing (2), Dom Damico, Brad Brown
WM- Camden Deming (2), Reed Postlewait (2),Chase Oropollo, Sam Wivell, Scott Domboski