05/16/23 - In the second game of the MIAA Semifinal double-header, the 2nd-seeded Calvert Hall Cardinals took care of business against the 3rd-seeded Loyola-Blakefield Dons. Just a week before, CH beat Loyola in their last regular season game by a score of 6-5. And that was after a relatively high scoring second half. At half-time, they were tied 1-1.

This time around, the Dons came out of the gates hot, going up 3-0 before the Cards knew what hit them. They built their lead to 6-2 before Calvert Hall mounted their comeback. Senior attackman, Shuey Kelly, put the team on his back and scored the next three goals to bring his team within one at 6-5 heading into half-time. His final goal came with just 5 seconds left in the half.

Whatever happened in the locker room worked for the Hall. They came out blazing and turned their 1-goal deficit entering the 3rd quarter into a 3 goal lead coming out. This time, they scored their final goal of the quarter with just 6 seconds left, bringing the score to 10-7.

The fourth quarter would end up being a 1-1 stalemate as neither team could generate much offense against the other's solid defense. Of course, that was fine for Calvert Hall. A 1-1 fourth meant an 11-8 win and a trip to the championship game on Friday night against the #1 seeded and 2nd-ranked team in the country - McDonogh Eagles.

For Loyola, a team that didn't make the playoffs a year ago, they have to be proud of their season. They were the only team to hand McDonogh a loss and I can't imagine many people would have guessed they would be playing in Annapolis at this point of the year. Congrats to the Dons on a fantastic job.

Calvert Hall, a team that started the season at 1-4 (albeit against some of the top teams in high school lacrosse) is now one game away from taking the throne of the top conference in the land. I've now watched them for two seasons start at one level and finish at another. In less than 24 hours, we'll see if they can take it all the way to the top floor. On to Loyola's Ridley Field Complex for the final showdown on Friday night.

Notes:

- Thanks to Lew (@lewsflicks on IG) for sending me the clip of Loyola's 8th goal. While I was trying to run to the bathroom during a time-out, my lack of speed cost me to miss the goal. But Lew is a team player and hooked his slow, old brother up!

- Once again, I shot pics in the first half and video in the second.

- Please check out www.proudlacrosse.com to see more vids and photos.

- Most of the video was shot with a Sony FX3 and Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens. The stills and some smaller video clips were shot with a Sony A7iv with both the above lens and also the Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS lens.

Thanks for watching and reading!

Joe