MPSSAA lacrosse playoffs: Washington County Public Schools roundup

The season came to an end Friday for the Smithsburg boys, who were aiming to become the first Washington County lacrosse team to win an MPSSAA state title. Here's what happened:

Boys 1A state semifinals

Fallston 10, Smithsburg 3

The Leopards made their sixth straight appearance in the state semifinals Friday at Wheaton High School, but the quest for their first state title continues.

The Cougars, the defending state champions, led 3-1 at the end of the first quarter, 6-2 at halftime and 8-2 entering the fourth period as they advanced to the finals for the fourth straight year.

For Smithsburg (15-2), Garrett Mazenko, Kaden Dietrich and Blake Linn each scored a goal, and Zak von Garrel made 15 saves.

Wednesday

Boys 1A state quarterfinals

Smithsburg wins by forfeit

The Leopards were set to host Fairmont Heights, looking to advance to the state semifinals for the sixth straight time.

Smithsburg achieved the feat without having to play as Fairmont Heights forfeited. The Hornets didn't have enough available players due to injuries suffered in their 6-0 win over Surrattsville in Monday's 1A South Region II final.

The Leopards will face Fallston in the semifinals Friday at 4 p.m. at Wheaton High.

Monday

Boys 1A West Region II final

Smithsburg 12, Middletown 9

Isaac Rhoderick and Blake Linn each had three goals and an assist as the Leopards topped the visiting Knights for their sixth straight region title.

Smithsburg (14-1) will host Fairmont Heights in the state quarterfinals Wednesday at 6 p.m., aiming for a sixth straight trip to the semifinals as the team continues to chase its first state title in program history.

"We're on a pretty nice run. It's good to keep it going, but obviously, this isn't our Everest," Smithsburg coach Cullan Ganley said. "We want to keep it going and hopefully make a long playoff run. We still can possibly play three more games, and that's the plan."

Rhoderick ignited the offense Monday.

Smithsburg trailed 2-0 over seven minutes into the game before Rhoderick caught fire, scoring two goals in a 25-second span to tie the game.

Less than a minute later, a goal by Linn gave the Leopards a 3-2 lead, putting them in front to stay.

Smithsburg led 5-3 at the end of the first quarter and 8-5 at halftime.

After Middletown cut it to 8-7, Rhoderick delivered again late in the third quarter, scoring his third goal to stop the Knights' momentum.

"The last three or four games, Isaac has really jump-started us when we needed that spark," Ganley said. "Somebody needed to. He kind of broke the ice in the first quarter, and then he broke the ice in the third quarter.

"Sometimes you just need to see the ball go in, and then some other ones can follow."

Linn followed with a pair of goals, and the Leopards had their biggest lead of the night, up 11-7 early in the fourth quarter.

After Middletown cut it to 11-8, a goal by Garrett Mazenko capped Smithsburg's scoring with 6:44 remaining.

Mazenko and Ayden Weakfall each finished with two goals, while Zachary Linn and Dante Rucci each had a goal and an assist, and Ashton Redman added an assist.

Leopards goalie Zak von Garrel made 12 saves, including a few sensational stops.

"You knew that (Middletown's) offense was going to come in here and get a lot of shots up," Ganley said. "They scored 18 goals the other night against Catoctin, so Zak was definitely going to see shots. He plays his best games when he sees a lot of shots. He gets into the rhythm of the game, as opposed to when he just sees them here and there."

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Friday, May 10

Boys 1A West Region II semifinals

Smithsburg 12, Boonsboro 3

Zach Linn and Isaac Rhoderick each scored three goals, Zak von Garrel made 14 saves and the No. 1-seed Leopards (13-1) cruised past the No. 5-seed Warriors (6-8) at home.

Smithsburg will host No. 2-seed Middletown, a 19-5 winner over No. 3-seed Catoctin, in the region final Monday at 6 p.m.

The Leopards took a quick 2-0 lead on goals by Linn and Rhoderick, before the Warriors answered on goals by Connor Permenter and Trent Stouffer, who assisted the Permenter score. Boonsboro would not score again until the fourth quarter.

"Defensively, we had a few times were out of sorts, but all in all, I thought we owned our matchups on that side of the field," said Leopards coach Cullan Ganley. "Zak gives everyone confidence on the field. Your mistakes don't get seen as often when the guy between the pipes makes the saves. He's a phenomenal player and he's been great to have between the pipes for four years."

Rhoderick struck again to give Smithsburg a 3-2 lead after one period. The Leopards scored the only two goals of the second quarter, by Linn and Garrett Mazenko, for a 5-2 halftime lead. They outscored Boonsboro 4-0 in the third quarter to build a 9-2 lead, with Zack Linn, Blake Linn, Rhoderick and Ayden Weakfall finding the net.

"We started out a little slow. Scored the two goals early, but we hadn't played a real game in a week," said Ganley. "Our only issues were us shooting ourselves in the foot. We were causing our own turnovers, throwing the ball away, and you never know in the playoffs what the nerves are going to be. We just needed to exhale, and then we started putting the ball into the net."

Rhoderick's goal in the period came on a circus shot. Taking a feed from Mazenko near the right post of the goal, and while facing away from the goal, he quickly flipped a no-look shot backward into the net.

Blake Linn, Weakfall and Kaden Dietrich added fourth-quarter tallies to complete Smithsburg's scoring. Mazenko finished the game with three assists, Rhoderick and Blake Linn had two assists each and Zach Linn also had an assist.

Stouffer scored his second goal of the game in the final period on a Permenter assist for Boonsboro. Cade Melton made eight saves and Trent Jenkins forced four turnovers for the Warriors.

Smithsburg defeated Middletown 11-8 in the regular season on April 18. The Knights won a rematch in the CMC Small School title game, 4-3, but neither school fielded its full varsity squad, preferring to play it safe before the playoffs.

"They're going to be like we are. They're a good defensive team, and it's going to be who takes advantage of the offensive opportunities and puts the ball in the net when you get them," Ganley said. "We jumped out on them 6-0 (on April 18). I don't expect them to go down 6-0 on Monday. It's going to be playing a clean game, playing for 48 minutes and keeping your foot on the gas."

Girls 1A West Region II semifinals

Catoctin 10, Boonsboro 8

Taeler Stouffer scored six goals for the No. 2-seed Warriors (7-6), who fell just short at home against the No. 3-seed Cougars.

Nicole Malasky had a goal and an assist, Bekah Meiklejohn scored, Madyson Davis had an assist and Emma McKinley made seven saves for Boonsboro.

Middletown 19, Smithsburg 0

The No. 1-seed Knights shut out the visiting No. 4-seed Leopards (2-11).

Thursday, May 9

Boys 3A West Region I quarterfinals

Frederick 7, North Hagerstown 6

The No. 4-seeded Hubs lost a heartbreaker at home against the No. 5 Cadets.

North, which trailed 4-3 at halftime, led 6-5 late in the game after getting second-half goals from Chase Garver, Ethan Stevens and Jacob Jardinier.

Frederick scored a goal to tie it at 6-6 with a minute remaining and then got the game-winner with 8 seconds left.

Noah Foltz scored two goals for the Hubs in the first half.

Wednesday, May 8

Girls 1A West Region II quarterfinals

Smithsburg 12, Brunswick 7

The host and No. 4-seed Leopards (2-10) pulled away from the No. 5 Railroaders in their playoff opener.

Smithsburg took control with four goals in the second quarter to build a 5-1 halftime lead. The Leopards led 9-4 after three quarters.

Grace Ellis had five goals and two assists to lead Smithsburg. Zoe Dixon scored three goals, Bridget Hays had two goals and two assists, Olivia Kretsinger had a goal and an assist, Cayden Dixon scored, Danica Radaker had three assists and Kendra Wilkinson made 11 saves.

The Leopards will travel to face No. 1 Middletown in the semifinals Friday at 7 p.m.

Girls 3A West Region I quarterfinals

Frederick 19, North Hagerstown 8

Juls Brawner scored seven goals and Maddie Rydzewski added six goals for the host and No. 4-seed Cadets, who opened up a 13-3 halftime lead and eliminated the No. 5 Hubs (3-10).

Boys 1A West Region II quarterfinals

Boonsboro 6, Brunswick 4

The No. 5-seeded Warriors (6-7) went on the road and knocked off the No. 4 Railroaders.

Trent Stouffer, Braylin Lantz, Kaden Kidwiler, Connor Permenter and Brett Sharpless each scored for Boonsboro. Stouffer had two assists and Lantz and Colin Telemeco added an assist each. Telemeco also won eight faceoffs and eight ground balls. Nathan Montgomery forced four turnovers and Cade Melton made 12 saves.

Boonsboro will travel to face No. 1 Smithsburg on Friday at 6 p.m.

Boys 3A West Region I quarterfinals

Tuscarora 19, South Hagerstown 3

The host and No. 3-seed Titans eliminated the No. 6 Rebels (2-11).

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