SMITHSBURG – The core of the halftime message to the South Hagerstown lacrosse team was simple.
“Slow down and breathe.”
Shortly after, Wyatt Roberts became the Rebels’ breath of fresh air.
The sophomore, who is slight in stature but big in heart, breezed to three goals in a 10-minute span of the third quarter to break a halftime tie and lift the Rebels to a momentous 7-4 victory over arch-rival North Hagerstown in the Maryland Class 3A West Region I semifinals.
The win not only move South into its deepest ever run the state lacrosse tournament, but rewarded the Rebels with their first win over the Hubs since April 7, 2015. It halted a 14-game losing streak in the city rivalry and was only the fourth win in 29 tries against the Hubs.
“It was real big. It’s awesome,” Roberts said. “During football, we lost to them, but we came back in lacrosse and scored. Look at us now … we’re up top.”
The reward is a trip to play against top-seeded Linganore for the Region I title on Tuesday. But until them, it’s time for South to take a deep breath and savor the moment.
North and South matched missed opportunities and errant shots during the first half for a 2-2 tie at the intermission.
It gave South Coach Tim Rockwood the opportunity to hit the Rebels’ reset button.
“Admittedly, North has a very strong goaltender,” the fourth-year coach said. “It’s all about getting the best shots, not just good shots. The second half we did that. The kids got a nice reset at one point and just took the one more half a breath they needed to finish the plays they needed to finish they were missing in the first half.”
From there, it seemed to become a breeze for Roberts.
He found himself on the receiving end of nice passes in breaking situations to cash in three times for the only goals of the third period. The first came in the opening 55 seconds of the second half, followed by scores at 7:03 and 1:16 marks of the third quarter to give South a 5-2 advantage.
Roberts did it all while playing with a broken hand, which was taped up and gloved during the game.
“I got a little kick, and I started playing. I mean it was better of a half,” he said. “In the second half, I was looking to for my teammates to get open and then I cut through the defender, I looked to the ball and make sure I was on point and looked for the pass.
“I just saw that (the Hubs) were moving around a little more than normal. I got a little help to get on the inside and got a quick pass to shoot and score.”
Even with the quick burst of success, Roberts went practically unnoticed in the middle of North’s defense.
“With Wyatt, his stature helps a little,” Rockwood said “He is also an extremely cagey kid who is really intelligent. His knowledge of the game in just two years has just jumped off of the sheet.
“He’s like 110 pounds playing varsity lacrosse. Last year he was 105 pounds playing varsity lacrosse as a freshman. He’s calming down a little bit more and he’s doing everything we ask of him and a little bit more. That’s how goals happen.”
North attempted to comeback in the fourth quarter, but could only trade goals with the Rebels in the final 12 minutes. Keegan Warrick scored two of his three goals – at 11:06 and 1:24 – but they only alternated with the Rebels’ finishing touches to the win.
Xander Ray offset Warrick’s first goal at the 4:56 to make it 6-3 before Nigel Jefferies closed the scoring with :45.6 remaining to ice the three-goal victory.
“We cleaned up some mistakes,” Rockwood said. “We also had some kids who were moving really, really quick with their sticks in the first half. We talked about slowing that down. It’s OK to take a second to think and a second to make sure your hands are right when you are releasing a pass or throwing a fake on a shot.”
The first half was a bit out of sorts with dropped balls, loose passes and a number of errant shots for both teams.
South took a 1-0 lead when Nick Bryan curled around from behind the goal to stuff home the first goal at 6:09. Warrick answered at 4:47 with his first goal to make it 1-1 after one quarter.
After the Hubs had a goal waved off to start the second period, Thurman Harold bounced a shot home from 10 yards out to give South a 2-1 lead with 5:28 remaining in the half. Mattu Rohil countered nearly two minute later for the tie at intermission.
It gave South time to catch its breath.
“It was a nice little reset there,” Rockwood said. “These kids just love each other. They want to play really hard to keep playing with each other.”
