Boys lacrosse: Top 3A-2A seeds get first-hand playoff previews

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Boys lacrosse: Top 3A-2A seeds get first-hand playoff previews

by Dan Greenberg | Staff Writer

E-mail this article \ Print this article

It’s a common phenomenon for coaches to scout the teams they are slated to play. But what makes lacrosse interesting is that the players do it too.

Several top teams in the Class 3A-2A West Region of the boys lacrosse tournament tried to get a leg up on their bracket by investigating potential opponents’ playing styles during the year. With teams in Frederick and Montgomery County, the West is full of teams that don’t face each other during the regular season. So, many of them become voyeurs.

Not that it doesn’t help.

‘‘We’ve seen both [top Frederick] teams, Walkersville and Urbana, and I know Urbana’s been to our last two games as well,” said Seneca Valley head coach Mike Ricucci. ‘‘They’re both very strong fundamentally. Urbana’s extremely athletic, as usual, and Walkersville moves the ball very well. We wanted to get a good look at their offense.”

A first-year head coach, Ricucci’s tenacious style and scouting has rubbed off on his squad, which translated it into a superb season for the second-seeded Screamin’ Eagles. At 10-1 (going into Tuesday), Seneca features strong defense, led by goalkeeper Ryan Milford (second in the county in save percentage). The Eagles have won low-scoring affairs against division rivals Paint Branch and Bethesda-Chevy Chase, but are explosive, as well, having scored 20 goals in victories over Wheaton and Poolesville.

However, their offense doesn’t even compare with that of No. 1 Walkersville (11-1), which has scored at least 10 goals in every single game of the season. With only a loss to unbeaten Winters Mill (ranked 17th in the state by laxpower.com), the Lions are the favorites going into the tournament thanks almost wholly to their offensive production. They average over 16 goals per game.

No. 3 Kennedy (7-4 going into Tuesday) is just a notch behind, having enjoyed its best season since head coach David Heiney-Gonzalez took over four years ago. Getting a first-round bye and second-round home game (against sixth-seeded Northwood) wasn’t easy, but thanks to one-goal victories over Blake and Blair last week, the Cavaliers did it.

‘‘Two close games and we played very well in both of them,” said Hainey-Gonzalez. ‘‘We have a chance. Our offense seems like it’s getting better every game, though our ball-handling skills against teams like Walkersville, Seneca Valley and Urbana are going to have to be better.”

The No. 4 Hawks (7-4 through Tuesday) are the reigning regional champions, and despite the seed, have as good a chance as anyone to win it all. They have faced the toughest schedule of any team in the bracket, and beat two other Frederick County schools in the region, Tuscarora and Linganore, 14-4 and 8-0, respectively.

Urbana opens the postseason in the quarterfinals with No. 5 Wheaton, whose four wins are the most in school history. After not winning a game for five years, the Knights have put together a historic season, for their standards, beating Northwood twice, Clarksburg and Einstein.

Though they would face a seemingly insurmountable obstacle in Walkersville should they make the second round, No. 9 Rockville (5-6) could potentially surprise. The Rams closed May with three straight victories, including an 18-5 ouster of No. 8 Clarksburg, which they will face in the first round of the tournament Thursday.

3A-2A WestRegion Playoffs

Favorite: Walkersville (11-1)

Contenders: Seneca Valley (10-1), Urbana (7-4)

Dark horse: Kennedy (7-4)

Players to watch: Nick Young (Seneca Valley, Sr., A), Kevin Patton (Walkersville, Sr., A), Teddy Wescott (Kennedy, Sr., M)