A few weeks ago, 17 Broadneck boys lacrosse seniors sat together in one of their basements and made a list. A year after riding an undefeated season to a historic Class 4A state title, things didn’t look quite so shiny this spring. They carried a few losses.
Some games that might have finished as routs in 2023 were closer shaves in 2024. The seniors discussed every single thing that made the team work, wrote it down and handed the “manifesto” to coach Jeff McGuire. It’s all those things that McGuire saw in the final minutes of their failed repeat bid at Stevenson University on Thursday night.
Down a goal in the final two minutes and man-up, the Bruins launched shot after shot at Urbana’s net, chased each ground ball with a fierce, desperate determination. Attack Liam Komlosy cradled a pass for the split second, thinking he caught keeper Zach Thayer unaware, he fired. But the sophomore Urbana keeper was hardly ever unaware.
With the save, turnover and the game-securing Urbana goal it led to, the Bruins walked with each other to their own goalkeeper, Matt Tettemer, one final time as a team following their 7-5 defeat. To look at the silver medals as failure, though, doesn’t sit right in their coach’s mind. “If 15-5 is your worst year, you had a pretty good year,” McGuire said.
After Broadneck dropped its first two games — one to rival Severna Park — McGuire first laid into his players. Then, he let up. This was a good team, he reminded himself, but a differ.
