Larry Kramer understood the expectations when he took over as head coach at Severna Park last year.
The Falcons have qualified for the state tournament in nearly every season the past decade, a lofty perch Kramer never reached when he coached at Northeast, a fellow Anne Arundel County school, the previous two seasons.
Kramer took over at Severna Park a day before the 2007 season started after the school did not renew the contract of then-coach Jimmy Beardmore.
The result? The team did exactly what it did under Beardmore: it won the 4A/3A title, its second in a row and fourth in the past eight years.
This season, Severna Park appears poised to go for a three-peat as it improved to 6-1 following a 10-4 win over visiting Annapolis on Tuesday. The Falcons, who graduated 22 players from last year?s team that finished 18-2, look to improve to 5-0 in county play when they host Chesapeake tonight at 6:45.
“The seniors on that team understood the leadership roles that were required of them,” Kramer said. “This year?s team is much younger, but they are really starting to come together. We have just two goals at Severna Park: win the county championship and win the state championship. This team understands those pressures and are capable of accomplishing them.”
Junior midfielder Sam Jones leads the team with 27 points ? 14 goals and 13 assists ? and junior attacker Sean Price has a team-high 17 goals to go along with five assists and junior Simon Ruppert has won 65 percent of his faceoffs.
Defensively, the Falcons rotate senior Andrew Gvozden and junior Andrew Lowman in goal. Gvozden, who is the brother of Johns Hopkins goalie Michael Gvozden, has a 75 percent save percentage and will play for Hofstra next season. Lowman has a 74 percent save percentage and has verbally committed to play for St. John?s.
“Playing both goalies has just worked for us,” Kramer said. “The situation is ideal because it keeps both players ready to go instead of having to get them warmed up if we need them.”
Price said the team having a stable coaching situation has made it easier for a team with so many new players to continue to win.
“We understand what is expected of us,” Price said, “and winning a state title showed us [Kramer] knows what he?s doing.”
Midfielder Jeff McGuire, who will play for defending Division III national champion Salisbury next season, has assumed the leadership role on a team that has just a few seniors. McGuire, who has four goals and six assists, said the senior class wants to leave its legacy by winning a third straight title, a feat accomplished by just two other schools ? Dulaney (2001-03) and Towson (1992-94) ? since the state tournament?s inception in 1990.
The Falcons, who have reached the state final in eight of the past nine seasons, would be going for a fifth straight title had they not lost to Dulaney in overtime in the state final in 2005.
“There are always big expectations when you play lacrosse at Severna Park,” McGuire said. “We?re the dominant program in the state and each year we have to prove that. Winning a state title for a third straight year would be such a special accomplishment.”
