Gaels

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 PREP VOLLEYBALL Jean Hogan had 17 assists to lead St. Maria Goretti to a 25-21, 25-17, 25-13 season-opening sweep of Jefferson on Wednesday. Beth Eich had 12 digs and Jessica Swarner had seven kills for the Gaels (1-0). Heritage 3, Broadfording 0 Sarah Couch had five kills, Katie Connolly had three kills and two assists and Anne Hunt had five assists for Broadfording Christian Academy in a 25-9, 25-9, 25-14 loss to Heritage Academy (2-0)

In the wake of second-leading scorer Kris Cronise’s injury in Thursday’s loss at Oakdale, St. Maria Goretti girls coach Todd Rideout is looking for his next man — or girl — up. “(Cronise’s) injury is major. It may be an ACL tear, she may be out for the rest of the season,” Rideout said. “We need someone to step up.” Despite the setback, team leader Colleen Costello is still healthy and playing lights-out basketball. Costello earned her eighth double-double of the season with 27 points and 11 rebounds Saturday as Goretti beat Broadfording Christian Academy, 46-32.

St. Maria Goretti reached the final of the 29th Mid-Atlantic Invitation Tournament with a 59-43 victory over Bishop Walsh on Friday night at the Gael Center. Goretti will play in the championship game tonight at 8 against Bishop O'Connell (Va.), which won the first semifinal 83-59 over St. Paul's. “We'll have to be strong and take care of the basketball,” said Goretti coach Amrit Rayfield of the challenge ahead for the Gaels. “You just don't want to get to the championship and that's it. (O'Connell)

They found the holes and they found the fences. When it was all over, the Mercersburg Academy baseball team had taken 13 hits, seven walks and three hit batsmen and combined everything into a 16-1 five-inning win over St. Maria Goretti on Tuesday. The Blue Storm picked up the Independent Schools Private League victory with three home runs and many doubles that found gaps. “They got the hits and we’re just in an offensive slump,” said Goretti coach Duane Myers. “We put the ball in play, but we just can’t find the holes.” On the other hand, Mercersburg (4-1)

St. Maria Goretti's size advantage was on display from the start against Smithsburg on Monday. The Gaels controlled the opening tip, dominated the boards and owned the paint in a 61-49 win over the Leopards. “We knew we had a size advantage over them,” Goretti coach Amrit Rayfield said. “Using our size was in our game plan.” Smithsburg held its own against its taller opposition by using the 3-pointer early and often. The Leopards shot 33 percent (8-for-24) from beyond the arc. “We tried to spread the floor and use our quickness against them,” Smithsburg coach Eric Gerber said.

SMITHSBURG -- St. Maria Goretti boys soccer coach Tristan Longnecker proudly proclaimed the Gaels were entering Tuesday's game with a 4-4-4 record. He had a choice on which one of the 4s would become a 5. "It better be the first one," Longnecker said. He got his wish. The Gaels turned up the pressure in the second half to pull out a 2-1 victory over Smithsburg in a Washington County match. "In the second half, we started to play as aggressive as we could," Longnecker said.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011 PREP BASEBALL POTOMAC, Md. — St. Maria Goretti lost 9-4 to Avalon in the losers’ bracket final of the Maryland Private Schools ‘B’ Tournament on Tuesday to finish in third place. The Gaels had 13 hits in the game, including two each by Jake Moats, Kevin Proctor, Vince Turano, Adam Blenckstone, Taylor Litzinger and Ryan Kinter. Goretti    130    000    0    —    4    13    3 Avalon    100    350    x    —    9    12    0 Blenckstone, Moss (5)

Saturday, August 25, 2012 BOYS SOCCER Kevin Proctor scored two goals and added an assist as St. Maria Goretti defeated Berkeley Springs 4-1 on Saturday. Casey Bartholomew and Jordan Patterson each added a goal while Jake Kline had an assists for the Gaels. Drew Katrina made three saves for Goretti. GIRLS SOCCER Goretti 3, Berkeley Springs 3 Lauree Lorensen scored two goals for St. Maria Goretti in its tie with Berkeley Springs on Saturday.

St. Maria Goretti boys lacrosse coach Keith Reitenbach told his team it was playing for the city championship when it faced South Hagerstown at School Stadium on Thursday. OK, so it wasn't technically for a city championship - the Gaels don't face North Hagerstown this year - but Goretti did beat the Rebels 7-4 in the only game it will play against a city foe this season. And that was reason enough for Reitenbach to be pleased. “We're very excited. The future is very bright for us,” Reitenbach said.

Monday, February 18, 2013 BOYS BASKETBALL BALTIMORE - The St. Maria Goretti boys basketball team reaped individual awards at the BCL banquet on Monday night. Amrit Rayfield was named BCL Coach of the Year in his fourth year as the Gaels' head coach. Then, 6-foot-8 junior Martin Geben was named Player of the Year. Geben averages more than 16 points and nearly 12 rebounds a game for the Gaels. Guard Tyrus Fleetwood won the BCL's Most Improved Player and was named to the honorable mention team.

The St. Maria Goretti baseball team used good pitching, good defense and enough timely hitting to pull out a 2-1 victory over The Heights School on Wednesday at the Funkstown Legion baseball field, earning the Old Line League Tournament title and advancing in the Maryland Private Schools 'B' Division playoffs. The Gaels (9-13) were originally scheduled to play The Heights (16-9) on Saturday for the Old Line League title, but it got rained out. Wednesday's contest served dual roles.

NCAA basketball coaches have a pin on the map with Hagerstown as a player in the recruiting process. The focus is on St. Maria Goretti's Martin Geben, who along with fellow junior Obi Enechionyia, of Saint James, could give Washington County a pair of major Division I signees this year. The NCAA currently is in a recruiting period which allows coaches face-to-face visits at school locations with prospective players. Goretti has become a stop on the road. Earlier this week, Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon paid Geben a visit, along with Temple head coach Fran Dunphy.

Saturday, April 27, 2013 PREP SOFTBALL Saint James 20, Goretti 10 ST JAMES - Alyssa Blank ripped a three-run triple to key a 10-run first inning as Saint James won its first game of the season win a 4 1/2-inning victory over St. Maria Goretti on Saturday. The Saints added eight runs in the second inning to pull away. Saint James (1-10) was helped with 11 walks. Giuliana Gentile added two hits and two RBIs for the Saints. Ceceila Trybus and Tess Skeham led Goretti with three hits each, while Tao Limlapdee and Carly Kramer had two hits each.

Travis Leopold's primary role on Smithsburg's lacrosse team isn't exactly a glamorous one. His job is to face off and get off the field - FOGO, in lacrosse prose. He expanded on his FOGO duties Monday night, leading the Leopards with four goals en route to an 8-3 victory over St. Maria Goretti. “(Leopold) was our FOGO, but he showed something tonight,” said Smithsburg coach Joe Dietrich. “He used his speed and lit it up.” Leopold scored 2:30 into the game on an assist from Kyle Geblein after Smithsburg goalie Zach Schaeffer made a save and successfully cleared it downfield.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013 BOYS LACROSSE St. Maria Goretti, in its second year as a varsity program, pulled off an upset on Tuesday afternoon, beating Mercersburg Academy for the first time, 8-3 on the turf at Northern Middle School. Mike Ewing had three goals and a pair of assists to lead the Gaels (8-2). Wyatt Derr had two goals, Matt Casto had a goal and two assists, Graham Horst and Will Snyder each had a goal, Morgan Kenworthy had an assist and Mike Fairley had nine saves for Goretti.

Friday, April 5, 2013 BOYS LACROSSE CENTREVILLE, Md. - Mike Ewing and Matt Casto had four goals and three assists each to lead St. Maria Goretti past Gunston 14-2 on Friday. Morgan Kenworthy had two goals and an assist, John Martin had two goals, Wyatt Derr had a goal and an assist, Jordan Patterson had a goal, Willie Spinnler had and assist and Mike Fairley made 11 saves for the Gaels (6-2). PREP BASEBALL Catoctin 6, Williamsport 0 WILLIAMSPORT - Hunter Maloy and Brandon Toloso had Williamsport's only two hits in a loss to Catoctin in the MVAL Antietam.

Jake Moats' do-it-all performance led the St. Maria Goretti baseball team to a 23-0 rout of Spencerville on Monday. Moats pitched a no-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts and two walks and, at the plate, he went 4-for-5 for the cycle with five RBIs in a game that was stopped after 4 1/2 innings due to the mercy rule. “That's a complete game,” said Goretti coach Denny Talbert. “To hit for the cycle and throw a no-hitter, that's an incredible achievement.” “Coach keeps telling me to just throw strikes and my dad tells me to relax and play my game.

When Amrit Rayfield came to St. Maria Goretti three years ago, he knew his priority was to return the boys basketball program to a level of prominence it once held. That first season, Rayfield experienced what had happened the five previous ones - a losing record - when the Gaels went 8-24. But things began to turn around last year when Goretti went 19-13 and began to show a ray of hope that stretched into the powerful Baltimore Catholic League, where the Gaels had become an easy target.

When Martin Geben steps onto the basketball floor, the fans will not see any razzle and dazzle. What one will see, however, is a young man who brings a lunch pail - also known as workmanlike effort - to the gym. Geben, a 6-foot-9 junior who hails from Vilnius, Lithuania, is the prize catch of St. Maria Goretti and, sometime soon, will be the same for a fortunate NCAA Division I college. Geben was instrumental in leading Goretti to a 21-13 record this season, the first time since 2004-05 that the Gaels exceeded 20 wins in a season.

Friday, March 15, 2013 PREP BASEBALL Goretti 10, St. John's 6 FREDERICK, Md. - Jackson Roth had three hits, including a solo home run in the second, to lead St. Maria Goretti to its first win of the season over St. John's Catholic Prep.  Josh Moats had two hits, including a two-run homer in the fifth, and Jake Moats and Tim Davidson had two hits each for the Gaels (1-1). Goretti    010    062    1    -     10    13    4 St. John's    004    100    1    -     6    4    4 Kinter, Bartholomew (6)