Leopards get a win at their invitational

April 03, 2010|By BRETT NIEVES/Staff Correspondent

SMITHSBURG -- Smithsburg hosted its annual Easter Invitational lacrosse event on Saturday, and welcomed North Hagerstown, North Carroll and Calvert to town.

The Leopards recorded the only win for the two Washington County schools, routing Calvert 15-3 in their second game.

Junior midfielder Cullen Ganley began the rout early in the first half by notching two unassisted goals. Ganley scored three of the first four goals for Smithsburg, giving him the hat trick.

Mark Chirdon and Clayton Layman each added a goal for the Leopards in the first half, while senior attackman Bobby Gery scored three more to give Smithsburg the 8-0 halftime advantage.

Gery and the Leopards weren't finished their scoring frenzy yet. Gery remained hot in the second half, torching Calvert for two more goals to finish with a game-high five. Five other Leopards -- A.J. Minnich, Kevin Grimm, Taylor Valencia, Alex Sweeney and Dillan Harbaugh -- scored in the second half. Sophomore defenseman Mitchell Akers got into the mix by adding an assist.

Calvert's three goals all came from Ryan Cathro in the final six minutes.

Smithsburg dropped its first game against North Carroll, 8-4.

The Leopards were unable to get on the board until Grimm scored with 1:19 left in the first half, and Smithsburg trailed 3-1 at halftime.

Gery scored the first goal in the second half for Smithsburg, but North Carroll answered back shortly thereafter. The slow first half-start was too much for Joe Dietrich's Leopards to overcome.

"We're inconsistent right now," Dietrich said. "But we just have to play our game and we'll be alright."

North Hagerstown came up on the wrong end of both its games.

Calvery defeated the Hubs 7-3 in their first game. Zach Eppard scored all of North's goals.

"He's a leader on this team this season and will be again next season," Hubs coach Dave Tallant said.

North goalie Andrew Barnhart was a human wall in the second half, allowing just two goals.

The Hubs dropped their second game to North Carroll, 11-1. Tyler Smith scored for North.

"This was a learning experience for us," Tallant said. "A lot of our middies were from JV, but we're still hoping to be competitive in the county this year."

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