It was hard to know what to do with the ball. St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes sophomore attack Frank Clay was certainly open. But with his team nursing a one-goal lead and an epic upset on the line the decision wasn’t so simple: Hold or shoot?
Luckily for the Saints, Clay decided to trust his shot. He slammed one past Georgetown Prep goalie Dan Gutierrez and watched that slim two-goal lead hold up — barely — over the final 2 minutes, 40 seconds as St. Stephen’s shocked the top-ranked Little Hoyas, 7-6, in an Interstate Athletic Conference tournament semifinal at Georgetown Prep.
The loss ends a 48-game winning streak for the Little Hoyas (19-1), who were last beaten by DeMatha on April 19, 2005. It was the first time fifth-ranked St. Stephen’s had ever beaten Georgetown Prep. The Saints advance to Saturday’s championship game against the winner of last night’s other semifinal between No. 2 Landon and No. 4 St. Albans.
“Ever since we started playing lacrosse for St. Stephen’s, we’ve always heard how good Landon and Georgetown Prep are and how it was impossible for us to beat those teams,” said senior midfielder Andrew Conner. “But we never doubted we could do this.”
Even if history was against them, the Saints (13-4) entered the game with plenty of confidence. St. Stephen’s played the Little Hoyas tough on April 3 in a 5-4 loss. But even the Saints couldn’t have expected to be up 6-1 late in the third quarter. They were efficient offensively and limited Prep to a handful of quality scoring chances. And even when the Little Hoyas found some shooting lanes St. Stephen’s goalie Mark White (Maryland) was there to stop them. He finished with nine saves.
Georgetown Prep was 19-0 for a reason, however. A late goal just before the whistle ended third quarter sparked the Little Hoyas, who scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter to pull within 6-5 with 2:53 to play. All the momentum was on their side.
“We needed a goal right there badly,” said St. Stephen’s coach Andy Taibl.
They got one as Conner won a critical faceoff, hit senior Greg Perkins with a pass, who in turn found Clay open in front of the goal. His tally made it 7-5 and at least allowed the Saints to catch their breath. But they still had to endure a Prep goal with 1:31 to go and a key clear with under 10 seconds left.
A Heavenly win
» Prior to Wednesday’s loss, Georgetown Prep was 4-0 in one-goal games with wins over St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (5-4), Gilman (8-7), St. Paul’s (8-7) and Darien (Conn.).
» St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes senior midfielders Andrew Conner and Teddy Seifert each scored two goals.
» Senior midfielder Dudley Locke also scored a goal for the Saints.
