In a game that Landon (5-5, 1-1) never trailed, Brown was timely and inspirational. Twice in the second half after Prep (9-3, 1-1) pulled to within a goal, Brown answered with big plays. Then in the fourth period, he put it away with back-to-back goals.

His desire was best demonstrated when he got the ball at midfield, ran over a defender and passed off just as he was being blasted by another Little Hoya. Sophomore Sean O’Brien finished, putting Landon up 5-3 with 8:32 left.

“I was like, ‘This kid’s not going to stop me. I gotta run through him,’” Brown said. “It’s Prep, you have to come out and play the game like it’s your last.”

The Drexel-bound Brown, who chose Landon four years ago because his best friends from his club lacrosse team were going to the Bethesda private school, got indoctrinated into the rivalry the instant he entered Landon. Teammates such as senior goalie Alex Joyce (nine saves), whose father played goalie for the school three decades earlier, made sure Brown was apprised.

“It’s kind of in my genes,” said the Georgetown-bound Joyce. “I’m born to say ‘Beat Prep.’”

Until Wednesday, Landon had failed to do its tradition proud, losing five of its first eight games, the worst start in program history. With four of the losses coming by a single goal, the culprits were an anemic offense and an inability to win faceoffs.

Landon’s slump coincided with an injury to senior faceoff specialist Sam Lamson (Fairfield), who has since returned to the lineup. Lamson won three straight in the fourth period, helping fuel the Bears’ four-goal run.

“Holding our own at the faceoff X was huge,” Landon coach Rob Bordley said. “We lost some games where we were literally 20 percent, 25 percent. It wasn’t like we weren’t trying. We tried everything we could dream of.”

It also was the first game this year for junior midfielder Philip Pena (hamstring), who intercepted a ball at midfield in the final minute, paving the way for a final celebratory goal – senior Matt Potolicchio feeding senior Charlie Schnider (Maryland) with 38 seconds left.

“We’re getting healthy,” Bordley said. “This will give us a real shot in the arm.”

Landon seized its opportunities. In the first half against sophomore goalie Will Railey (seven saves), sophomore midfielder Jack Falk and junior attack Peter Laco scored back-to-back goals off rebounds. In the second half, Brown took over, thriving in transition situations.

“Hank is a very, very good on-the-run shooter,” Joyce said. “He loves dodging down the right alley with his right hand and just taking bounce shots. And even when he doesn’t shoot he has great vision. He can make some great passes.”

Landon also got strong work on defense from junior Michael Rhoads and seniors Garrett Sellers, Mark Strabo (Princeton), and Alex Povich, who shut out Liam Giblin (Johns Hopkins). The Bears killed two 1-minute penalties in the third period, preserving a one-goal lead.  

“We did a great job helping each other,” Joyce said. “They definitely did a good job protecting me today.”

Landon’s mission now is to win the highly-competitive Interstate Athletic Conference. Bullis (8-3, 1-0) owns a breakthrough win over the Bears. St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (7-2, 0-1) is a threat as well.

If the IAC tournament comes down to Landon and Prep, which it has 10 of the last 11 years, the Bears can’t take anything for granted. They pounded the Little Hoyas last year in the regular season, 10-5, before losing to them in the tournament title game, 7-6. The last three years, the loser of the regular season game has rebounded to capture the tournament.

“It’s what we’ve talked about since the beginning of the year. That’s not happening again,” Brown said. “That’s our goal. It’s what the league is all about – winning the championship.”

Note: Bear Altemus had a goal and an assist to lead the Prep offense.  

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