After surviving at Loyola Blakefield Sunday afternoon, McDonogh School’s lacrosse team figured Tuesday’s matchup with No. 4 St. Mary’s would be another down-to-the-wire struggle.
Then, came the opening whistle. In arguably the biggest surprise of the MIAA A regular season, the No. 2 Eagles throttled the Saints, 11-6, in Owings Mills.
Senior attack Connor Morgan had four goals for McDonogh, and Evan Glaser contributed two goals and an assist. Sophomore Austin Frederick had two goals.
The Eagles (9-1 overall, 5-0 MIAA A Black Diviision) scored the game’s first eight goals, turning the Top 5 showdown into a shocking mismatch. McDonogh had an 11-2 advantage in the fourth quarter before the Saints scored the last four to make it respectable.
The Annapolis school dictated the pace early, missing on a couple of scoring opportunities. David Williams found the net for McDonogh with 7 minutes, 3 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Playing under light rain, the floodgates open for the Eagles.
Morgan, Frederick and Glaser tally scores, giving McDonogh a 4-0 advantage after the opening quarter. Glaser made it 5-0, before the Eagles sent St. Mary’s reeling with three goals in the final minute.
Brenny Daly scored with 51 seconds left followed by scores by  Photo courtesy Kitsie Michel/DSC_0532_large.jpg "McDonogh's Evan Glaser tries to elude St. Mary's Michael Dillon. Glaser had two goals and an assist as the Eagles won their sixth straight decision. (photo by Kitsie Michel)")
Morgan with 40 and 10 seconds left, respectively. Stymied by McDonogh’s defense, St. Mary’s finally got on the board with 2:10 remaining in the third on a goal by junior attack Michael Bonacci.
The Saints got a score from Robert Fox (assist Pat Cavanaugh) to close the third, but McDonogh reasserted itself in the fourth. Will Hauver, Morgan and Frederick scored, giving the Eagles a nine-goal advantage.
Nate Lewnes, Pat Manley, Spencer Coyle and Taylor Morse scored in the final quarter for St. Mary’s, which fell to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the MIAA A Red Division. The Saints head to Irvington Friday for a match with Mount St. Joseph.
McDonogh, which only loss came against the nation’s No . 1 squad Haverford (PA) School, heads to Gilman School Friday, then Severn School Tuesday. The Eagles return to Owings Mills next Thursday for a showdown with No. 1 and unbeaten Calvert Hall College.
No. 2 McDonogh School 11, No. 4 St. Mary’s 6
St. Mary’s 0 0 2 4-6
McDonogh 4 4 0 3-11
Goals: St. Mary’s-Bonacci, Fox, Lewnes, Manley, Coyle, Morse; McDonogh-Morgan 4, Frederick 2, Glaser 2, Hauver, Williams, Daly.
Assists: St. Mary’s-Cavanaugh; McDonogh-Glaser.
Saves: St. Mary’s-Morse 7; McDonogh-Falcone 17.
