Mergenthaler (Mervo) represented the city well Tuesday in the opening game of the Parkville boys lacrosse Invitational.
With four goals from sophomores Damon Lee and Chris Hardy, Mervo defeated Oakland Mills of Howard County, 8-2.
“We had a lot of energy today. It also seemed like the things we have been telling them have finally clicked,” said Martin Church, the Mervo head coach.
Mervo played well, despite being shorthanded. The team had only four reserves available for the game.
Church said that he was missing eight players who did not make the trip to Parkville. Oakland Mills was in a similar predicament, fielding onlytwo regular starters in the game during a week that school is not in session.
Oakland Mills head coach Paul Marshall said that half of his squad Tuesday was composed of junior varsity players. He added that most of those junior varsity players are in their first season of lacrosse.
The game began slowly for both teams, with neither offense able to take advantage of scoring chances. Mervo?s Lee scored the first goal with 2:33 to play in the first quarter, and his team would never trail.
“We executed our game plan,” said Lee, who set a career high with four goals.
The game was fought and won on the ground, with Mervo?s physical play on groundballs leading to more possession time.
At halftime Mervo led, 4-0. Colin Orr, one of two regular starters in the game for Oakland Mills, scored the Scorpions? first goal with 4:32 remaining.
“There was nothing we could really do in the situation,” Orr said of his team?s eight missing starters. Andrew Gezik, normally the starting goalie, scored Oakland Mills? final goal with more than nine minutes left to play.
Mervo is 3-3 with the win and moved on to the championship game of the Parkville Invitational against the tournament host. Parkville won its opening game over Western Tech. Oakland Mills fell to 0-5 with the loss to Mervo.
HELP FROM ALL SIDES
» Devon Nibbs, usually the leading scorer for Mervo, did not register any goals, but he had four assists. Other Mervo players with assists were Reggie Claxton (two), Chris Hardy (one) and Bernard Tilman (one). Oakland Mills had a single assist from Jim Grandfield and Greg Waters.
» Oakland Mills was without one of its top offensive contributors: senior midfielder Dan McQuay. He broke his hand in the Scoripions? game against River Hill and will most likely be sidelined until the playoffs.
