Lamon's clutch goal lifts Saints past Admirals in OT | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

Lamon scored three goals, including the game-winner in overtime, to lead St. Mary's past Severn, 11-10, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

"This was a huge game," said Lamon, who scored all three goals in the second half. "Severn-St. Mary's rivalry - it couldn't have been better."

Matt Bell scored a hat trick, and Mark McNeill's second goal forced overtime with five seconds left in regulation and set up the end of Severn's season.

The Admirals (11-11) missed the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference playoffs, while the Saints (15-5) clinched the fifth seed with the victory.

St. Mary's coach Matt Hogan didn't want to hear any postseason discussion until his players walked off the field last night.

"We purposely talked on Wednesday that there was no playoff talk, there's no winning talk," Hogan said. "We just wanted to play the way that we were capable of playing and let the chips fall how they go."

The Saints led six times and fell behind with less than three minutes left in regulation.

Steve Kirkup's wrap-around goal past Saints goalkeeper Peter Stewart tied the score at 9 with 4:53 remaining, and the Admirals took the lead two minutes later.

Taylor Burns intercepted a wild pass at the midfield stripe and quickly swung a cross-field pass to an open Alex Cramer. The sophomore attackman took two steps and fired a low, five-yard shot with 2:52 left to put the Admirals ahead - their third lead of the game.

But with 16 seconds left in the quarter and the ball in his possession, McNeill began directing traffic. McNeill took off to the net and stuck a shot beneath Severn goalkeeper Alex Plavner's stick with five seconds left to even the score at 10 and send the game into overtime.

"That's a very good impression for a kid who's 15 years old," Hogan said.

St. Mary's didn't waste much time in the extra frame. Bell threw a centering pass from the right side of the net for Lamon, who lined an open shot past Plavner, and the Saints' players flooded the field in celebration.

"It looked like we had the momentum, and we held them defensively," Severn coach Brian Wood said. "We made a mistake clearing the ball, and we gave them one more opportunity. And against a good team like St. Mary's, you can't do that."

Lamon was scoreless in the first half, as the Saints took a 5-4 lead into intermission.

Severn got two goals from Burns, Kirkup and Zach Swerdloff, who scored twice in the first quarter to tie the score twice at 2 and 3, respectively

There were seven ties and nine lead changes in the game.

Burns opened the third quarter with back-to-back scores to give Severn a 6-5 advantage, but Lamon answered in the same fashion.

Peter Athens and Lamon hooked up twice in a 65-second span to put the Saints back in front.

Athens came to a halt in front of the net and dished the ball to Lamon for a goal from left corner of the zone. On the Saints' next possession, the two connected again for the same play and a 7-6 lead.

"It was something we put in a previous game," Hogan said. "I thought coach (Rob) Chomo did a great job of recognizing what they were doing and making that adjustment during the timeout."

Bell put St. Mary's up by two after he completed his hat trick on a short goal with 3:10 left in the third.

Severn defender Mark Stains snapped the Saints' 3-0 run with 2:39 to go in the quarter, and Kirkup took a long, cross-field pass from Stewart D'Ambrogi to tie the score at 8.

"We played very well," Wood said. "St. Mary's is a very deep team. We left it all on the field. I feel sorry, especially for our seniors, because we were right there."

Severn (11-11) 3 1 4 2 0 - 10

St. Mary's (15-5) 3 2 3 2 1 - 11

GOALS: SE - Swerdloff 2, Kirkup 2, Burns 2, Sheehy, Stains, D'Ambrogi; SM - Lamon 3, Bell 3, McNeill 2, Doub 2, Lewnes. ASSISTS: SE - Burns 3, Verklin 2, Cramer, D'Ambrogi; SM - Athens 2, Hansen 2, Hopmann, Lamon, Doub, Frye. SAVES: SE - Plavner 14; SM - Stewart 8. SHOTS: SE - 24; SM - 33. GROUND BALLS: SE - 14; SM - 29. FACEOFFS: SE - 11; SM - 15.