Howard boys lacrosse showcases balanced offense in 12-4 win over Wilde Lake
Apr. 12—Howard boys lacrosse continually preaches the importance of consistency, which manifests itself in multiple ways on and off the field.
Friday night, the Lions controlled the game with eight different goal scorers in a 12-4 wire-to-wire victory over Wilde Lake. Playing the final game of a packed three-game week, Lions coach Shea Conway implored his players to start fast.
Howard (6-2, 2-1 Howard County) jumped out to a four-goal lead in the first with four different goal scorers. Senior defender Connor Hunter energized the Lions bench by capping off that strong start with a pole goal. Meanwhile, Howard's defense suffocated the Wildecats, pressing out and not allowing them free space to operate.
"It's the best feeling ever," Hunter said. "When I can just do something for my boys on offense, it's the best feeling. Whether I'm getting an assist or a goal it doesn't matter, I'm just doing something for them. That's all that really matters. I like doing it down on defense, but man that's just the best feeling."
Howard built on its lead in the second. Luke Treese and Dylan Kimmel tacked on goals as the Lions continued to control possession. Pat Conron excelled at the faceoff X, while the Lions ride pestered Wilde Lake's defense and forced numerous failed clears.
"We've rode pretty well all season," Conway said. "I think it comes down to just having good energy, the attack really shifting sides of the field and coming up with ground balls in the middle of the field. We hold ourselves to a high standard in making sure that we're coming up with those tough ground balls in the middle of the field. The ride was great.
"I think Pat Conron all season has just made some really gritty plays. Maybe he doesn't win [the faceoff] cleanly, but he's going to fight to pick up that ground ball and definitely sparked a little bit of offense today from just second effort."
Despite the minimal possessions, Wilde Lake (2-4, 2-2) cut into the lead late in the first half. Mason Brown scored two of his three goals in the final five minutes. Lewis Collora also made 12 first-half saves, but the Wildecats still trailed 7-2. Collora continued his strong play in the third, preventing the Lions from adding onto their lead.
However, the Lions offense found their earlier stride in the fourth. Jayden Denicola and Conron scored 15 seconds apart, pushing Howard's to seven.
"I feel like coming into our senior year we have a lot of chemistry," Howard's Dylan Treese said. "We have had starting middies for the same three years now and some young guys have been on varsity too. We always know how to bang the ball around and find the open man."
Conway was proud of the way his players responded at the end of a challenging week.
"We had a tough game on Monday," Conway said. "I thought we rebounded pretty well on Tuesday. It's tough to come back-to-back games like that. We had some time off on Wednesday, so I was pleased with how we handed the week and how we came out. We started fast today, so that was a good thing. Hopefully that's building us for the postseason and the rest of the season, so we're ready for that."
------
Howard — 4 3 1 4 — 12
Wilde Lake — 0 2 1 1 — 4
Goals: H- Dylan Treese 3, Lucas Mena 2, Dylan Kimmel 2, Connor Hunter, Luke Treese, Jayden Denicola, Pat Conron, Brendan Sutch; WL- Mason Brown 3, Jack Healy. Assists: H- Denicola 2, Luke Treese, Dylan Treese; WL- Sam Phelps, Jack Healy. Saves: H- Augustin Rocha 4, Enan Meyenburg 1, Xander Boyko 1; WL- Lewis Collora 19.
