Box Score
Region XX Tournament Central
BEL AIR, Md.—While No. 1 CCBC-Essex keeper Tyler Powell was pulled 10 minutes into the second quarter, No. 5 Harford men's lacrosse freshman keeper Tim Kemena (West Chester, Pa./West Chester Henderson) was on the fire in the cage, stopping a season-high 19 shots in 60:00. The Knights (14-1) eventually pulled out the 15-9 victory, but the Fighting Owls (7-10) gave them plenty of trouble along the way in the Region XX semifinal game on Friday night at Harford Stadium.
Essex took just five seconds to notch its first goal of the game and by the end of the first quarter, the Knights had built a 4-1 lead, reminiscent of the teams' Apr. 8 meeting which saw Harford down 7-1 after 15:00 of play.
Not wanting a repeat of the 19-5 slaughter, Harford kicked in on all cylinders after Ben Yancheski, who was named the offensive tournament MVP, gave the Knights a four-goal lead, 5-1, three minutes into the second.
Sophomore Craig Hanzelka (Edgewood, Md./Edgewood) started a two-goal rally for the Owls, scoring a man-down goal with 11:10 left in the quarter before freshman Matt Vickers (Baltimore, Md./Loyola) took a feed from Ben Wilson (Bel Air, Md./Fallston) with 9:26 on the clock, to put Harford within two, 5-3.
The teams traded goals and Essex tacked on one more for a three-goal, 7-4 lead, before Powell made his exit with 4:27 left in the second. Eric Biller came up with two big saves as the first half expired, but the damage had already been done.
Essex looked to be gaining some momentum back from the Owls, as it outscored Harford 3-1 to start the third and built a 10-5 lead, the largest of the game. Freshman Eric Kluge (North East, Md./North East) countered with two straight goals, however, to put Harford within three, 10-7, as the teams entered the final 15:00.
A Yancheski goal made it a four-score game two minutes into the start of the fourth, but Wilson came up big for the Owls, scoring an extra-man goal a few minutes later after Essex was whistled offsides.
Neither team scored for over five minutes, which saw Kemena stop four shots and Biller save one, before Yancheski started a three-goal rally for the Knights with 5:36 remaining.
Down four goals, 12-8, Harford still had a manageable game on its hands, but its face-off woes, which were rampant throughout the entire game, came to a head as Brandon Kendrick won two straight chances for Essex, which saw the Knights score within six seconds and 40 seconds of the respective face-offs to take a 14-8 lead.
Each team added just one more goal as Essex pulled out the 15-9 semifinal victory and advanced to Sunday's championship, which saw them down No. 2 Anne Arundel, 15-7, to claim the Region XX title.
Wilson led Harford with five points (3g, 2a) on the night, earning an All-Tournament selection for his effort. Kemena also joined Wilson on the All-Tournament squad, while Yancheski, an All-Tournament selection and offensive MVP, paced the Knights with six goals.
Essex outshot the Owls, 47-35, and dominated at the face-off X, winning 22 tries to Harford's five, while corralling 68 ground balls to the Owls' 51. Kemena held the advantage in the net, totaling 19 saves in 60:00, while Powell and Biller combined for 14, Powell with eight in 25:33 and Biller with six in 34:27.
The rest of the All-Tournament team, as well as results and stats from the entire tournament can be found at Region XX Tournament Central by clicking on the link above.
