Lacrosse playoffs: Smithsburg boys and girls fall to Fallston in 1A semifinals

Friday, May 19

Boys 1A semifinals

Fallston 11, Smithsburg 3

The Cougars led 3-0 after the first quarter, 7-0 at halftime and 9-0 after three quarters, pulling away from the Leopards at Wheaton High School in Silver Spring.

Smithsburg finished the season with a 14-3 record and played in the state semifinals for the fifth straight season.

Josh Kalons scored twice in the fourth quarter and Garrett Mazenko had the other goal for the Leopards.

Fallston advanced to its 11th state championship appearance. The Cougars have won six titles, the last coming in 2021 with a victory over Smithsburg.

Girls 1A semifinals

Fallston 21, Smithsburg 9

The Leopards' deepest postseason run ever ended with a loss to the Cougars at Wheaton High School.

Maddie Kesselring scored eight goals for Smithsburg. Brianna Ellis had a goal and eight draw controls, Eva Abbott had three assists and Kendra Wilkinson made 21 saves.

Fallston will make its ninth appearance in the state finals, including its third straight. The Cougars have won two state titles, in 2009 and 2012.

Smithsburg finished the season 9-7. The Leopards' 1A West Region II championship was their first region title in program history.

Wednesday, May 17

Boys 1A quarterfinals

Smithsburg 9, Liberty 2

Falling to the ground, Garrett Mazenko scored his fourth goal with 2:30 left, putting the top-seed Leopards up by seven goals and putting a cap on the victory over the eighth-seed Lions.

“I mean, (Mazenko’s) been out with a broken arm for most of the season, so it’s been great to have him get back into it the last three games,” said Smithsburg coach Cullan Ganley. “And I think he’s been hungry to get back out there all season, so now that he’s gotten that opportunity, he wanted to make a deep playoff run and here we are."

Smithsburg (14-2) scored three goals in the first five minutes of the game. Adam Batey scored on an assist from Joshua Kalons. Mazenko scored his first goal two minutes later on an assist from Blake Linn.

Liberty cracked the scoreboard late in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 3-1. The Lions held the Leopards to just one goal in the period.

“It’s always nice to go up early and kind of get things going right from the start,” Ganley said. “Definitely, things didn’t stay going the same pace as we wanted them to the whole game, but our defense kept them from scoring, so that was great and our offense kind of got back into rhythm there towards the end.”

Smithsburg’s defense held Liberty to one goal in the second half, while the Leopards scored five.

“(The defense) has kind of been the backbone for us all year,” Ganley said. “We’ve kind of asked them to do a lot, kind of stand on their head at times, and it’s always nice to be able to rely on the defense.”

Linn had two goals and two assists for Smithsburg. Batey also had two goals and Kalons added a goal and two assists.

The Leopards will make their fifth consecutive trip to the state final four. Smithsburg will face Fallston in the semifinals Friday at 6 p.m. at Wheaton High School.

The Leopards lost to Fallston 13-8 in the 1A state final in 2021. Smithsburg also reached the final in 2018 but still is seeking its first state title.

“It’d be great to win one,” Ganley said.

Girls 1A quarterfinals

Smithsburg 21, CMIT North 7

Playing on the road in Laurel in its first-ever appearance in the state tournament, the seventh-seed Leopards blasted to a 17-5 halftime lead and dispatched second-seed CMIT North.

Brianna Ellis led the way with eight goals and 15 draw controls, and Maddie Kesselring added four goals, four assists, six draw controls and three caused turnovers for Smithsburg. Kiersten Mislan scored three goals, Eva Abbott had two goals and two assists, Brooke Callahan scored twice and Norah Keller and Grace Ellis added a goal each.

Smithsburg (9-6) will face third-seed Fallston on Friday at 8 p.m. at Wheaton High School.

Monday, May 15

Girls 1A West Region II final

Smithsburg 11, Boonsboro 6

The top-seeded Leopards captured the first region title in program history at Callas Stadium, scoring three goals in a 33-second span late in the first half to open a 7-2 halftime lead against the third-seeded and rival Warriors.

Earlier this season, Smithsburg (8-6) defeated Boonsboro 9-8 for the Leopards’ first-ever win over the Warriors (6-8). The playoff victory was more decisive.

"It's been a historic season for the whole team," said senior Bri Ellis, who had four goals, two assists and eight draw controls. "This is a way to close it out, but we'll try to make some more history Wednesday."

"Early in the season, we beat them by one goal and that was a huge win for us, but we knew it wasn't over yet," said Leopards coach Monica Hovermale. "They knew they could beat them, but they also knew they had to play a full game, from the first whistle to the last."

Smithsburg is seeded seventh for the state tournament and will travel to face second-seed CMIT North in Laurel at 7:30 p.m. in Wednesday's quarterfinals.

Senior Maddie Kesselring had six goals and four draw controls for Smithsburg, which built an 11-4 lead deep into the second half.

The Leopards controlled much of the possession in the first half, staying patient waiting for opportunities — perhaps too patient. Once Boonsboro cut the lead to 3-2 on a goal by Bekah Meiklejohn, Smithsburg kicked into a higher gear.

Ellis made it 4-2 with 2:34 left in the half. Kesselring netted the next two, the first with 2:10 left in the half, the second coming just nine seconds later. Ellis closed out the scoring in the first half with a tally 16 seconds before halftime.

"When it was 3-2, I knew we had to go, we couldn't play around," said Kesselring. "We went for it and didn't look back."

Kendra Wilkinson made 10 saves for the Leopards.

Anna Kate Davis and Lexie Wilt each scored twice for Boonsboro. Nicole Malasky also had a goal.

Boys 1A West Region II final

Smithsburg 10, Catoctin 9

Leopards coach Cullan Ganley said he "wouldn't say we played our best game, our most complete game" against the Cougars at Callas Stadium, "but we made enough plays when we needed them" to capture a fifth straight region championship.

Ayden Weakfall scored four goals, Blake Linn added a goal and four assists, and top-seed Smithsburg (13-2) never trailed. The Leopards led 10-7 before second-seed Catoctin scored a pair of goals in the final 25 seconds, too late to change the final outcome.

"Blake leads our team in assists, and it's been nice to see Ayden build his confidence," Ganley said. "It's easy to forget they're both sophomores because they have experience."

Smithsburg is the top seed in the state tournament and will host eighth-seed Liberty at Callas Stadium on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

Goals by Weakfall and Linn broke a 3-3 tie in the second quarter and gave the Leopards a 5-3 halftime lead.

"I was just looking to create some offense," Weakfall said. "When I saw a mismatch, I tried to take advantage and put it in the back of the goal."

Immediately after a Catoctin goal cut Smithsburg's lead to 8-6 early in the fourth quarter, faceoff specialist Clark Smith won a faceoff and took it straight to the goal, splitting the Cougars defense for a tally that restored a three-goal lead.

The score was 9-7 two minutes later when Smith saved a likely Catoctin goal, preventing a clean shot from point-blank range with a timely stick check.

"Clark won some huge faceoffs," Ganley said. "At times we were able to build momentum and then keep it."

Joshua Kalons had two goals and an assist, and Garrett Mazenko and Adam Batey also scored for the Leopards. Bruce Reynolds had an assist and Zak von Garrel made 10 saves, including one on a Cougars breakaway early in the fourth quarter.

Ashton Merritt and Charles Dougherty each scored three goals and Vincent Reaver III added both scores in the final minute for Catoctin.

Friday, May 12

Boys 1A West Region II semifinals

Smithsburg 14, Boonsboro 1

The top-seeded Leopards raced to an 11-0 halftime lead, and Zak von Garrel stopped 11 of the 12 shots on goal he faced as Smithsburg (12-2) advanced to the region final with a victory over the rival and fourth-seeded Warriors (3-10) at Callas Stadium.

The Leopards will host Catoctin, an 11-4 winner over Brunswick, on Monday at Callas Stadium. Smithsburg defeated Catoctin 9-6 in a regular-season game on May 4.

Smithsburg took a 4-0 lead in the first quarter on goals by Josh Kalons, Bruce Reynolds, Ayden Weakfall and Nate Cupaiuolo. Two other Leopards shots rang off the iron.

Von Garrel, a junior who has been the starting goalie since his freshman season, notched his 400th career save in the opening period.

The Leopards added seven goals in the second quarter to blow the game open. Kalons, Blake Linn and Weakfall scored two goals each in the period and Adam Batey closed the first half with a solo effort for a score, splitting the Boonsboro defense on a run of at least 50 yards.

Garrett Mazenko and Reynolds found the net in the third quarter, and Weakfall closed the Leopards' scoring in the final period with his last of four goals. Kalons finished with three goals, and Linn and Cupaiuolo had three assists each for Smithsburg. Clark Smith won 11 of 15 faceoffs and won seven ground balls.

Regan Varney scored a late man-advantage goal for Boonsboro. Kade Melton made nine saves.

Girls 1A West Region II semifinals

Smithsburg 17, Brunswick 0

The top-seeded Leopards (7-6) raced to a 9-0 lead in the first 7:05 of the game — before allowing the fourth-seeded Railroaders a single possession inside the Smithsburg end — and rolled to the victory at Callas Stadium.

Smithsburg will face rival Boonsboro in Monday's region final at Callas Stadium. The Leopards defeated the Warriors 9-8 on April 21, and that was the first time Smithsburg defeated Boonsboro in program history.

Bri Ellis led Smithsburg with three goals, an assist and eight draw controls, and Maddie Kesselring also scored three goals. Eva Abbott had two goals and two assists.

Once they had the big lead, the Leopards made a conscious effort to get the ball to their secondary attackers to spread the scoring. Brooke Callahan, Norah Keller, Hope Burleson, Danica Radaker, Bridget Hays, Brooklyn Gibson, Cayden Dixon, Kiersten Mislan and Kyleigh Ott each scored.

Kendra Wilkinson stopped all three shots on goal she faced for the shutout.

Boonsboro 8, Catoctin 6

The third-seeded Warriors (6-7) went on the road and knocked off the second-seeded Cougars (5-8), with Emma McKinley coming up big in net with 15 saves, to earn a rematch against Smithsburg in Monday's region final at Callas Stadium.

Boonsboro avenged a 13-9 loss to Catoctin in the regular season on April 6.

Bekah Meiklejohn had two goals and an assist, and Alexis House also scored twice for the Warriors. Anna Kate Davis, Nicole Malasky, Taeler Stouffer and Lexie Wilt each added a goal and an assist.

Wednesday, May 10

Girls 2A West Region II quarterfinals

Walkersville 19, North Hagerstown 8

The Hubs (3-9) had their season ended by the host Lions (5-8).

Avery Byard scored four goals and Riley Lutz added three goals and two assists for North. Sidney Emerson scored and Chloe Myers made eight saves.

Boys 3A West Region I quarterfinals

Thomas Johnson 17, South Hagerstown 3

The Rebels' season came to an end with a road loss against the Patriots (3-10).

Shayne Seek had two goals and an assist, and Joseph Fox made 24 saves for South (0-15). Nick Bryan scored, and Tyler Schaper and Logan Harold added an assist each.

Boys 2A West Region II quarterfinals

Walkersville 19, North Hagerstown 0

The Hubs (3-10) were shut out by the host Lions (6-7).

Monday, May 8

Smithsburg's boys and girls lacrosse teams are the top seeds in Class 1A West Region II.

The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association released the playoff brackets Monday afternoon.

In boys 1A West Region II, the Leopards (11-2) will face fourth-seed Boonsboro (3-9) at Callas Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m.

In girls 1A West Region II, Smithsburg (6-6) will face fourth-seed Brunswick (0-11) at Callas Stadium on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Also in 1A West Region II, Boonsboro's girls (5-7) are the third seed and will travel to second-seed Catoctin (5-7) on Friday at 6 p.m.

Three Washington County teams will play in regional quarterfinals Wednesday.

Both of North's Hagerstown's teams will play at Walkersville in 2A West Region II action Wednesday. The Hubs girls (3-8) will face the Lions (4-8) at 5:15 p.m., and the Hubs boys (3-8) will battle the Lions (5-7) at 7 p.m.

In 3A West Region I boys action Wednesday, fifth-seed South Hagerstown (0-14) will travel to fourth-seed Thomas Johnson (2-10) at 6:30 p.m.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County boys and girls lacrosse playoff roundup