Lacrosse Playoffs Kick Off

By: Luke Jackson

The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference boys lacrosse playoffs begin Tuesday with McDonogh hosting St. Mary's and Calvert Hall hosting Archbishop Spalding.

No. 5 seed St. Mary's went 14-5 overall and 5-5 in the conference, while No. 4 seed McDonogh finished the regular season 14-5 overall and 6-4 in the conference. The Saints played McDonogh May 6 and lost, 6-4.

"[McDonogh is] a very good team that plays smart and disciplined lacrosse," said St. Mary's coach Matt Hogan. "That makes you play the way they want to play. This will be a great challenge for us."

The Saints will have to get both their offense and defense on the same page as they did early in the season to have a good shot at victory.

"We started out very well, playing both ends of the field well and playing between the lines exceptionally well," said Hogan. "We played some tough teams and responded well to those challenges. During our league play, one end has experienced success while the other end has not played well. The offense and defense have taken turns playing well."

No. 3 seed Calvert Hall went 15-2 overall and 8-2 in the conference, while No. 6 seed Spalding ended up 8-7 overall and 5-5 in the conference. The Cardinals defeated the Cavaliers, 17-5, April 18.

The Calvert Hall/Spalding winner will meet No. 2 seed Loyola (11-4 overall, 8-2 conference) in the semifinals, Friday at 5 p.m. The McDonogh/St. Mary's winner will play No. 1 seed Gilman (17-0, 10-0), Friday at 7:15 p.m.

The semifinals will be held at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium as a part of a doubleheader.

The winner of each semifinal will meet in the A Conference title game, Tuesday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Unitas Stadium.