Comets

Catonsville needed three overtimes to defeat Franklin las Friday and advance to last night's Class 4A-3A, Region II boys lacrosse final.The Comets' reward? A game against top seed and No. 9 North County.This time, third seed Catonsville wouldn't get past regulation. It barely survived the first half.The host Knights dominated from the opening whistle, scoring the first 13 goals and cruising to a 15-2 victory.Senior Andy Mocarsky had three goals and four assists for North County (15-1), which moves on to Saturday's 4A-3A state semifinals at UMBC.

The Catonsville Comets came into yesterday's Class 3A, Region II title match admittedly nervous about facing unbeaten C. Milton Wright.They came out, however, with the confidence of champions.The fifth-ranked and host Comets played what coach Debbie Clem called "their best match of the year," and beat the ninth-ranked Mustangs, 15-5, 15-9, 15-7.For Clem, whose team struggled to beat Bel Air earlier this week in the semifinals, Catonsville's strong performance was reason to celebrate."I'm elated," said Clem.

The Kansas City Comets remain three games on top in the Major Soccer League's Eastern Division coming into tonight's game against the Blast at the Arena (7:05, WCAO-AM 600).The Comets beat visiting Tacoma, 6-5, yesterday, as Jan Goossens scored three goals, including two during a crucial 2:55 span of the fourth quarter.Goossens, 32, increased his career mark to 301, making him the sixth leading goal scorer in league history. Goossens started the Comets (16-10) on a three-goal barrage at 7:36 of the fourth quarter by scoring two consecutive goals.

Having most of the best competition at the end of the season allowed Catonsville first-year field hockey coach Lindsey Springer to build momentum. Yesterday, the Comets hit a season high when they upset No. 10 Towson, 3-2, to stand on the verge of earning a berth in the Baltimore County championship game. Lisa Musacchio scored two goals, including the game winner on a penalty corner with 11 minutes left in the game, to boost the Comets to 4-2 in Baltimore County's Heron Division with only this morning's game at Loch Raven remaining.

If the Major Soccer League is about to experience a ripple effect from the folding of the Kansas City Comets yesterday, commissioner Earl Foreman says he doesn't know about it."I know that is the knee-jerk question to ask," he said last night. "I don't resent it. The answer is: If the league is weak, K.C.'s folding will have an effect. If it is strong, it will not. I've talked to every owner in the league but one [St. Louis owner Milan Mandaric is out of reach in Saudi Arabia] and the message I've gotten is that they're sorry about Kansas City, but they're excited about their own plans for the future."

Rush hour on Interstate 95 between Baltimore and Washington will have a new meaning today for fans at Catonsville, where the boys and girls teams are top-seeded for the state Class 3A basketball tournaments being played at two sites."

Zoey Whittington had a decision to make last summer: stick with Catonsville's basketball team or switch to indoor track. Last winter, her speed and quickness helped the Comets win the Baltimore County basketball title. Still, she had been running since she was 7 and had a good track season last spring. "It was a hard decision. It really was," said the sophomore. "I just said to myself I had such a good season in track and field that I should keep it going until the end of this year." That decision paid off as Whittington set a meet record in the 400 meters at Saturday's Howard County Winter Track Festival at the Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex.

At the beginning of the 1986-87 season, the Blast rolled up a league-best seven straight victories before losing. Although that Major Soccer League record still stands, the Kansas City Comets are soaring to new heights when it comes to opening acts.After a 1-1 start, Eastern Division-leading Kansas City has won eight straight. Following yesterday's 5-2 victory over Cleveland, the Comets are 9-1, and no other team has been that hot 10 games into the season."Kansas City has obviously learned from our history," said Blast coach Kenny Cooper, whose team spent nearly all of the last two regular seasons in first place in the Eastern Division.

When Catonsville met Towson during the regular season, the Comets needed to work hard to pull out a one-goal victory.But Catonsville coach Kim McNemar wanted no mystery when the two teams met again last night in the Class 1A-2A state championship -- and the Comets granted her wish.Meghann Mohler led No. 14 Catonsville with six goals and two assists and eight players scored as the Comets gained their first state title in lacrosse with a 17-5 victory over Towson last night at Catonsville Community College.

When Lansdowne fell to Dulaney four weeks ago, the Vikings lost their chance to win the Baltimore County championship, but that did not take the edge off yesterday's match at Catonsville.The Vikings had not beaten Catonsville in at least a dozen years and were out to end the Comets' dominance of their west-side rivalry.They asserted themselves quickly.The No. 7-ranked Vikings took control of the net and used balanced hitting and strong blocking to beat the 11th-ranked Comets, 15-3, 15-9, 13-15, 15-5 in a Baltimore County Division I match.