Senior scores in OT as Little Hoyas topple Landon, 7-6
High anxiety at the start of overtime cost Georgetown Prep possession in the Interstate Athletic Conference championship game as Bobby Gribbin mistimed the draw. But two minutes later, the ball was back in Gribbin’s stick and he made amends.
Fighting past three Landon defenders and firing a shot over the shoulder of goalie Alex Joyce, Gribbin closed his stellar career with one of the biggest goals in school history, giving the Little Hoyas a 7-6 victory and the IAC title at Landon.
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“I just came off the pick, tried to give a little hedge, so the goalie moves, and then shoot it,” the Penn State-bound Gribbin said. “It just felt great when it went in.”
The shot put a satisfying end on an at-times frustrating season for Prep (18-3), which lost to Landon, 10-5, in the regular season and fell to Bullis, a team it had beaten 26 straight times dating to 1989.
Saturday in the IAC tournament final, Prep trailed 5-2 when Landon sophomore Peter Laco (three goals) scored with 2:37 left in the third period. But Prep rallied behind senior attack Cory Dobyns (three goals, two assists) and Gribbin (two goals, one assist), who won the last five faceoffs of regulation, willing the Little Hoyas to their seventh IAC title since 2003 and fourth outright.
“I think he’s the best player in the area,” Prep coach Kevin Giblin said. “What he does in between the lines – his ground balls, faceoffs, his defense, he competes.”
After Landon (19-3) took its 5-2 lead late in the third period, Gribbin won the ensuing faceoff and fed Dobyns (Maryland) for a goal. Before the period ended and after Prep killed a penalty, senior defender Henry Williams (Notre Dame) took the ball downfield off a turnover, drew two defenders, and fed Dobyns for another goal, making it 5-4.
Midway through the fourth period, Gribbin tied it with a leaping, left-handed crank shot. Then with 2:45 to go, senior Joel Blockowicz (Middlebury) put the Little Hoyas in the lead for the first time, 6-5, scoring off the pipe after a quick move to his right.
Landon retaliated with a score against a Prep zone defense, Laco taking a feed from senior Patrick Keena (one goal, one assist), to tie it with 1:03 to go.
It was the lone Landon goal in the final 16:41 of regulation and overtime against a Prep defense, led by seniors Jeff Hale (High Point), Juan Angel (Holy Cross), Pat Frazier (Loyola) and Williams, which was so solid that senior goalie Ford Martin was required to make just four saves.
“Our defense is amazing. That’s why we won the IAC,” Dobyns said. “I love every one of these guys. This is the happiest moment of my life.”
It was a tough way to finish for Landon, which scored the game’s first three goals in the opening 15 minutes. Junior midfielder Hank Brown fed Keeena for the Bears first goal and took a defensive midfielder to the cage to score another goal that made it 3-0.
But after that, it was all Gribbin, Dobyns, and the Little Hoyas’ defense. It was the third straight year that the loser of the regular-season game between Landon and Prep came back to avenge in the IAC tournament.
“I don’t know if it’s advantage to win that first game,” Giblin said. “A lot of seniors took part in this win. That’s a good way to send them off.”
