After losing two of its last three game, No. 2 Gilman needed a boost and it found it, as St. Paul’s visited Roland Park on Friday, and the Greyhounds pounded out a 13-3 victory.
Nine different players scored for Gilman, led by Gordie Koerber’s three goals. John Simms and Will McBride each had two scores.
Gilman (8-3, 4-2) took a 1-0 lead when Jake Matthai scored at 6:57 in the opening quarter, and Koerber made ot 2-0 a minute later. Harrison McCarthy made it 3-0 to start the second stanza before the Crusaders made the game close with goals from Spencer Parks (at 10:46) and Alex McGovern (at 5:33). Crusader goalie Will Rego kept his team early with nine first quarter saves and three more in the second before the Greyhounds got three unanswered goals before the half ended to take a 6-2 lead at the break.
They would get five more in the second half to go take a commanding 11-2 lead before Parks scored late in the fourth for the Crusaders (3-12, 0-6).
“We needed to bounce back after those two losses (to Calvert Hall and Loyola) to two great teams,” said Koerber. “I thought we played hard today. The keys were our ball movement and our off-ball movement.”
Gilman coach Brooks Matthews said that the losses to Calvert Hall and Loyola got his team’s attention,
“This was a step in the right direction,” said Matthews, who credited the defensive pay of Robby Haus, TJ Trusty, Devin Tucker, Tim Jenkins, Brandon Smith, and the play of goalies Bryan Moore and Thomas McBride as being big factors on Friday.
St. Pauls’ Parks, who will play at North Carolina after a superb career playing for coach Rick Brocato, said that it has been a rough season.
“I’ve been trying to help the younger kids develop,” said the talented senior. “I’ve been with coach Broc since eighth grade, and it’s going to be rough to leave.”
Box Score…
