Concordia Prep boys lacrosse outlasts St. John’s Catholic Prep, 11-10, in double OT to win MIAA C title
Concordia Prep goalie Logan Tawney made several key saves from point-blank range to keep his team alive against St. John’s Catholic Prep in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference championship game.
The Saints could feel the momentum shift, and Joshua Cruikshank scored with 2:19 left in the second overtime to secure an 11-10 victory Thursday at USA Lacrosse in Sparks.
Concordia won its fourth title. The program won three championships from 2009 to 2011 when the school was known as Baltimore Lutheran School.
“We could not have done it without him,” Cruikshank said of Tawney. “There’s no way we could have finished without him. It was a game-saver for sure.”
Noah Hauf, a three-time All-Conference long-stick midfielder, helped lead the Saints’ attack and finished with four goals. Concordia (13-2) handed St. John’s (13-1) its first loss of the season.
“He is a game-changer for us,” Saints coach Stephen Berger said of Hauf. “The kid just loves the game of lacrosse. He can play any position out there for us.”
The last time the teams met, St. John’s edged Concordia, 20-19, on March 15.
This time, it was more of a defensive battle. St. John’s goalie Landon Kunkle had 17 saves, while Tawney was equally impressive with 12 stops.
“It was really just team defense,” Tawney said. “We were playing the best we could. Winning this game is our goal all year.”
Alexander Piraino led St. John’s with four goals, while Joseph Novak had a hat trick and two assists for the Vikings. William Adams was also solid on the defensive end for St. John’s, picking up several ground balls and forcing turnovers.
After Novak scored to give the Vikings a 6-3 lead early in the third quarter, Concordia answered with three straight goals from Caleb Cruikshank, Aiden Ernst and Hauf to tie the game.
Hauf did a solid job controlling the midfield for the Saints and created several scoring chances.
Piraino scored two goals in the third quarter, including one with 2:47 left that gave the Vikings a 7-6 lead. Concordia’s Wyatt Shamer and Novak traded goals and St. John’s led 8-7 heading into the final quarter.
“The St. John’s goalie is incredible,” Berger said. “Hats off to our goalie Logan Tawney, who made some incredible saves in the overtime. We just knew we couldn’t give up. We had the belief and it just kind of sunk in.”
Shamer and Hauf scored to open the fourth quarter and Concordia led 9-8 with 6:02 left. After Novak tied the game, Hauf answered for the Saints, who led 10-9 with 4:50 remaining.
However, St. John’s would not go quietly as Drake McGrath sent the game into overtime with a goal with 47 seconds left.
After Tawney made a couple of big saves, Joshua Cruikshank collected a ball in front of the goal and found the top side of the net for the game-winner.
“We believed the whole time,” Berger said. “I kept telling our guys, ‘We have to make the next play.’ Ultimately it came down to that one last play, and he made it.”
Goals: C — Hauf 4, J. Cruikshank 2, C. Cruikshank, Seifert, Ernst, Shamer 2. SJ — Prunty 2, Piraino 4, Novak 3, McGrath
Assists: C — J. Cruikshank 2, Hauf; SJ — Fletcher, Novak 2, Prunty 2, Garofalo, Roupe, McGrath
Saves: C — Tawney 12; SJ — Kunkle 17
Half: SJ — 4-3