Northeast Boys ‘Refuse To Lose’ Against Chesapeake, 15-13

Northeast senior defenseman Matt Anderson believes the outcome of his Eagles’ game against Chesapeake was never in doubt — even before the game began.

“We weren’t going to lose that game,” said Anderson. “Chesapeake has a good team, and I completely think they worked hard too, but we completely were not going to lose that game. From the moment I woke up to the fourth quarter, we were not going to lose that one.”

His teammates shared his belief, and the result bore it out: Northeast made the plays it needed to keep Chesapeake at arm’s length and win, 15-13, at Northeast on March 29.

Tanner Bishop scored 3 goals to go with a game-high 6 assists, several of them to Riley Pitt, who scored a team-high 5 goals as the Eagles thwarted Chesapeake’s second-half rally to win. Damian Wirth and Stephen Haley both scored 3 goals for Northeast, and Ryan Frick added a goal and an assist. Connor Westervelt made 10 saves for the Eagles in the win.

John Healy, a senior transfer from Spalding, was the primary faceoff man for Northeast along with Bennett Diaz. Healy and Diaz combined for a 24-8 faceoff advantage against Chesapeake.

Much like Anderson, Northeast coach Walt Blahut said the power of the right mentality was the deciding factor in the Eagles securing the win.

“In my mind, it was confidence,” said Blahut. “It was more of an attitude that they refused to lose against Chesapeake.”

The victory ensured that both the girls and boys programs at Northeast won in the rivalry — the Lady Eagles beat the Cougars 16-11 prior to the boys taking the field — and it also continued the recent back-and-forth in the boys rivalry. Chesapeake won last year’s game, 17-4, and Northeast won both the regular-season matchup and playoff matchup in 2017. In 2016, Chesapeake won both the regular-season and playoff rivalry matchups, and the Cougars won the only game played in 2015.

“They wanted a chance to rectify last year’s game,” said Blahut. “The score last year didn’t indicate the difference in the teams. We have 13 seniors on the team, but not all of them were on the [2017] team when we beat Chesapeake twice, and not all of them have beaten Chesapeake. So, a lot of motivation involved. They made great decisions on the field. They made the plays when they had to. Different guys stepped up both offensively and defensively.”

Bishop said the team didn’t lose confidence even after falling behind in the second half. The Eagles led 8-7 at halftime, but Chesapeake took the lead early in the third quarter.

“We were winning at half and they came out and scored three in a row on us, but we had confidence we were going to win,” said Bishop. “We played well that day. We knew that since they beat us so bad last year, they thought they were just going to come in and walk all over us. We were excited to play them.”

Chesapeake had its share of difference-makers on the day, as Thomas Bullen had 3 goals and 4 assists; Dylan Wolfe scored 5 goals; and Gavin Hansel, Nick Wells, Hunter Davis, Jessie McWilliams and Ryan Rogers all scored. Hansel and Blain Smith had assists, and Brian Plummer made 16 saves.

“It was a good high school lacrosse game,” said Chesapeake coach Rodney Beres. “We got down 3-0 early but came back and eventually took a two-goal lead. Their face-off guys provided the edge gaining the extra possessions, and their goalie made some nice stops against our shooters. They played a good game and deserve the win, but hopefully this is one of the early-season matchups that we can learn from, and we may have a chance to see them again in the playoffs later on down the road.”

The Cougars have since posted wins over Wilde Lake and Hammond around a 9-7 loss to South River; Chesapeake is 4-3 through seven games.

Northeast, meanwhile, dominated Glen Burnie in a 19-0 win on April 5 in which Wirth scored 6 goals, Bishop had 5, Haley had 2, Healey had 2, Alex Evans had 1, Pitt had 1 and RJ Breeden had 1. Bishop had 5 assists and Frick had 3, while Westervelt (5 saves) and Gary O’Neill (3 saves) split time in goal.

The Eagles have had tough Howard County opponents: Centennial and River Hill dealt losses to the Eagles by scores of 15-6 and 15-8, respectively.

But the tough schedule of county opposition and 4A opponents gives the Eagles confidence they can make noise in the playoffs.

“This group can play,” said Blahut. “This is a good group as far as lacrosse abilities. They haven’t practiced well this year, but we had a great week of practice [leading up to Chesapeake]. We’re starting to turn the corner and work hard in practice and put things together. From Severna Park to Annapolis to Chesapeake, we knew we were making strides. I see where we’re at, and they with the mental aspect and their true talents, they put it all together.”

Anderson said the hard work is underway as the Eagles prepare to be dangerous come playoff time.

“Of course we want to go to states,” said Anderson. “We’re going to try as hard as we can to get to where we need to be. We still need improvement, but every game we’re getting better.”

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