It’s no secret Montgomery County public school lacrosse lags behind its counterparts in Maryland. In seven boys state semifinal competitions, Montgomery teams are 0-10 and have been out-scored, 151-62.
Wootton’s 13-7 loss Friday night to Severna Park, however, was anything but another humbling Montgomery defeat. It was evidence the talent gap is closing.
As the Patriots broke their post-game huddle at Annapolis High, junior defender Devin Zitelman announced: “We graduate only three players. We’ll be here next year. This time, we’ll win.”
Despite Montgomery County’s track record, Zitelman’s proclamation was far from outrageous. With some luck Friday night, Wootton (15-3) would have been in the game in the final minutes. Severna (17-2) out-shot Wootton only 36-32.
“Every Montgomery County team expects to come out here and get killed, but we saw them on tape and we said, ‘These guys are not that great. We can play with them,’” said the Patriots top scorer, junior Sam Burns (57 goals). “The only difference is they can field a full team of very good athletes.”
When Burns scored with 8 minutes, 8 seconds left Friday night, it cut Severna’s lead to 9-6 and gave the Patriots hope. In its previous two playoff victories, Wootton had overcome fourth period deficits to beat Walter Johnson and Churchill. But Severna retaliated with two quick goals, then held the Patriots without a shot in a man-down situation to extinguish the hopes of coach Colin Thompson’s squad.
“We’re bringing almost the exact same team here,” said Burns. “We’ll remember this game and we’ll know what it takes to win at this level.”
