Calvert Hall's Ryan Brown has been somewhat of a forgotten man on No. 1 Calvert Hall's attack unit this season, vying for playing time on a talented roster after being a starter most of last season.
On Friday night at Paul Angelo Russo Stadium, the Cardinals remembered the senior headed to Johns Hopkins just in the nick of time, as he scored the winning goal in a 5-4 overtime victory over Severn.
The No. 8 Admirals came into the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference game almsot as an afterthought but left with the respect of the Cardinals after tying the game on a beautiful shot by junior midfielder David Jones with 1:05 left in regulation.
Brown then netted the game-winner in an unsettled situation just 41 seconds into the extra period.
"Carter Brown got the ball and fedPatrick [Kelly]," Ryan Brown said. "Patrick skipped it to me and I put it in."
Severn junior goalie Ryan Frey deserved a better fate after stonewalling Calvert Hall shooters for most of the night.
"It was a back-side feed," Frey said. "It was fed and caught — it went stick-side, off-hip. It was a good shot."
The Cardinals (11-2, 5-1 league) came into the contest on a roll — they clobbered St. Mary's, 14-3, in Annapolis on Tuesday after consecutive wins over Gilman and Loyola the previous week — and could have fallen out of a tie with the Dons atop the conference standings had it not been for Brown's finish.
"We have to come in and face every team in this league, because every team is good." he said. "I think we learned a lesson, but it's great to get a win in a close game like this."
The Admirals (14-5, 3-3), on the other hand, have to feel snake-bitten. They scored seven unanswered goals to pull ahead of Boys' Latin on Tuesday before falling in overtime of that game.
"I'm a little speechless right now," Severn coach Brian Wood said. "That's the second time that's happened to us."
The Cardinals claimed a 2-0 advantage in the first quarter on goals by Carter Brown and junior midfielder John Belz.
Severn responded when junior attackman Ryan Lamon converted a pass from senior longstick midfielder Chase Brown just 16 seconds into the second quarter and knotted the score on junior Brett Bedard's rocket off a Mike Dennin feed midway through the third period.
The Admirals inched ahead, 3-2, on another Bedard tally before the Cardinals retook the lead, 4-3, on a pair of goals by Carter Brown in a 19-second span late in the quarter.
"Their goalie played great and they controlled possession for long stretches," Calvert Hall coach Bryan Kelly said. "They deserve all the credit. They were very good."
Goals: S – Lamon 1, Bedard 2, Jones 1; CH – Carter Brown 3, R. Brown 1, Belz 1.
Assists: S – Chase Brown 1, Dennin 1, Cohen 1; CH – P. Kelly 1, C. Brown 1, Pearce 1.
Saves: S –Frey 12; CH – Pecunes 7.
Half: CH 2-1
Regulation: 4-4
