Old faces return

Goeller's Paul VI squad takes Cup over Northern

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

It was clear that the Panthers' A team showed up Saturday as Paul VI defeated Northern 12-7 to win the Casalino Cup Tournament held at The Calverton School.

"I thought it was very competitive," said Lenny Casalino, of whom the tournament is named after and who played a major role in bringing lacrosse into high school athletics. "I enjoyed it and I thought the kids played hard and I think they played with phenomenal sportsmanship. It was great lacrosse to watch."

The Panthers jumped out to a 5-1 first quarter lead, only to see Northern claw its way back to within one by halftime. But Paul VI scored five of six second-half goals to win the tournament.   

"We've been playing spurts all year so every time we step on the field it's kind of interesting to see which team will actually show up," said Goeller, who took over the team in 2007. "We play in spurts and as a coach it's a frustrating thing when you can see what they're capable of doing and don't [do it]."

Goeller is no stranger to Calvert County lacrosse or the tournament, now in its 10th year. The Lusby resident was Patuxent's head coach from 2000 to 2004 and then was Huntingtown's head coach the following two seasons. He led the Panthers to back-to-back SMAC championships in 2003 and 2004.

Goeller has coached teams in nine Cups and the title was his first since 2002. Last year, Paul VI fell in overtime in the championship game to Calverton. Saturday also marked the fourth time Goeller has coached against longtime friend Joe Casalino, Northern's head coach.  

"He usually gets the best of me," Goeller said, "so this is nice."

Paul VI led 5-1 after the first quarter but Northern (7-3) stormed back by scoring five of seven second-quarter goals.    

"Nope," Goeller said when asked if he was pleased with his team's play in the second stanza. "Playing with a lead is something you have to be used to and we're not there yet. [Northern] scored a lot of goals on transition stuff and they had a lot of fast breaks. They were really moving the ball up the field. Basically at halftime we said we just had to get back and make sure we cut off the transition stuff. Our defense is tough to score on six-on-six so they just needed to be reminded of that."

Peter Wiles and Kevin Righi (game-high five goals) scored 14 seconds apart midway through the third quarter to open up a 9-6 lead and pave the way to the title.

"We're pretty resilient; they don't give up," Goeller said when asked what he learned about his team. "Right now we're kind of thin on midfielders but even on a hot day [like today] they never slowed down."

"We got down a couple goals and we started pressing to score instead of sharing the ball like we did in the first half," Casalino said. "I thought we competed against two very good teams [today] and I'm very pleased that we're going in the right direction."

Wes Caparatto had seven points (five goals, two assists) in the tournament and Kevin Fleming added three goals and three assists. Zach Greaves added three goals.

In the consolation game, Calverton (7-3) erupted for 10 second half goals to defeat Wakefield School 13-0.

Josh Wynne, Dylan Dooley, David Goodwin, Jimmy Baker and Nick Mazza each scored twice for the Cougars. Josh Wyrough, Wills Posey and Nick Woodall each tallied once. Peter Spaulding made six saves to earn the rare shutout.

Fairfax, Va.-based Wakefield School also has a Calvert County connection as the team is coached by Warren Shumate, a 2001 Calvert High School graduate.

Shumate attended Gordon College and was a long-stick midfielder, and was team captain his junior and senior seasons. He is now in his third season with the Owls. They were led by junior goalie Regan Washer, who made 38 saves in two games. 

"I need my core to step up and play good lacrosse because the young kids will follow the leadership," Shumate said. "But we need to take that first step."

mreid@somdnews.com