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HAGERSTOWN -- South Hagerstown goalie Drake Kessell won't be blamed by coach John Chirgott for Tuesday's 20-3 loss to Catoctin.
"We thought we had a chance to hang with them," said Chirgott.
That chance began to dwindle in the first quarter and was out of reach by halftime as the Cougars pulled away to a 13-0 lead.
"You can't blame the goalie," said Chirgott. "Our defense, the midfielders, they weren't picking up the sliders across the attack zone."
Catoctin had little trouble getting inside the attack zone successfully as the Cougars peppered the South goal with 27 shots -- 25 on goal -- and made 74 percent of them.
Most shots were from inside 10 yards, making it tough on Kessell as he faced a barrage of attackers. Kessell did make five saves.
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Cougars put away Rebels early
By Ric Dugan, Staff Photographer
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Catoctin freshman Charles McGlaughlin opened the scoring with a goal inside the crease at the 8:45 mark. The Cougars added three more in the first quarter.
McGlaughlin then went to work in the second quarter with three goals in four minutes. He made it 5-0 at the 7:35 mark and 6-0 just 33 seconds later. He finished the game with five goals.
South (0-4) finally broke the ice when Hunter Phillips scored on a straight-on shot from 15 yards -- a shot so ferocious it appeared like a shot out of frustration.
Phillips added a goal late in the third quarter and another in the fourth before Catoctin closed with three goals.
The Rebels' offense appeared out of sync from the beginning, only sending soft, off-the-mark shots at the Cougars' goal.
"Right now we are not communicating on defense, picking up the slides," said Chirgott. "Right now we are sliding backward from what I thought was a good start to the season. We should be going the other way."
After competitive losses to Frederick and Manchester Valley, the Rebels were thrashed by Brunswick prior to Tuesday.
"We have things we want to do, and right now we have players that won't listen," said Chirgott.
