North II

With the 2025 boy’s lacrosse season in the books, it’s time now to start looking towards the offseason in Montgomery County. Five teams each won their respective divisions, with one doing so for the first time in its school’s history, while another just continues to dominate. In this article, I will give a brief outlook into the offseason for each division winner, highlighting top players departing/returning, and get an overall feel as to where things stand now and moving forward. I also spoke with the head coaches from each team to get further insight. With that, here is the offseason lookout for Montgomery County Boy’s Lacrosse. Whitman: www.countysports.zone/forums/post/hQGn-nXycJy3wU9mO-tb4/… Northwest: www.countysports.zone/forums/post/UexeTwJDUcoq66T1qMVqk/… Einstein: www.countysports.zone/forums/post/lHS70aAUs1_DF96aeb9eu/… Sherwood: www.countysports.zone/forums/post/y3BqVfP6LPDsvxJzvcnJ7/… Rockville: www.countysports.zone/forums/post/Ij3vIXKYt-XDmbbxq4fsS/…

A year after winning more than ten games and with their top two points leaders returning, the Titans finished this past season with a record of 9-5, losing to Richard Montgomery in the regional championship. First team All-Division selections Lucien Johnson and Donovan Carnell led the team in goals and assists, respectively, with Carnell’s 43 assists being top five in Montgomery County. Lucien never played in JV, so his experience for four years will surely be missed. Among other top performers this past season were Cameron Mitchell, Robert Claubalt, Ari Gardner, Jonathan Windt, Luc Frechette, Jackson Martindill, Peter McWright, Dominic Lacosta, Niko De Luz, and Alonte Sumpter, who all made the All-Division teams. However, among those names, only De Luz returns. The defenseman had 27 groundballs and forced 17 turnovers. Other returnees include goalie True Hawkins, who made 42 saves for a SV% of .553. Charlie Kuschmider (4 goals) and Robert Woodward (4 points) also return, and will probably have more opportunities and results with the amount of seniors departing (17). “The key is boosting the confidence and talents of the new batch of players.” stated Lerner. The good news is that they have a lot of their returning players participating in summer clubs and camps. In terms of impact and legacy, Lerner gave his praises to Lucien, describing him as not only a great player, but a “fantastic teammate and leader.” “He grew from a relatively scrawny, scrappy freshman, to a strong goal scoring machine.” As for Carnell, who was the school’s first ever first team All-County member last year, Lerner stated that he was the “most gifted” lacrosse player that he had ever coached. “When teams game planned against us, Donovan was always on the top of their scouting report.” He says that it will be nearly impossible to replace the two, but he looks forward to seeing the next crop of players create their own legacies. He mentioned players such as Evan Von Kerczek, Liam Kirwin, Kuschmider, and Woodward.

The Richard Montgomery Rockets end the Titans season and win North ll Regionals in a 12-1, once again defeating them for a 2nd year straight in Regional Finals. Richard Montgomery and Albert Einstein entered this game with respectable identical records going into the North ll 4A regional finals. The game kicked off with an aggressive push from Richard Montgomery, already taking the ball close to Einsteins net. Richard Montgomery player #4 Charlie West would start off the score from a bizarre stick check after an attempted shot that had the ball roll in with little force. Einstein struggled in winning the ground balls, keeping the game in their own territory. Richard Montgomery #9 Kian Rajabtavousi added onto the total 10 shots attempted in the first quarter, compared to the Titans 1 shot. The quarter ended 2-0 heading for Richard Montgomery. Einstein Attackers continued to look be motionless, with no chance of being able to hold the ball from the Rockets dominant possession as the 2nd quarter started. Majority of the quarter continued to lay in Einstein territory, with the defense struggling from the Rockets' agility and boost. West added two more goals into the game, securing the hat trick and goal tally once again, alongside with #9 Rajabtavousi claimed the early brace, bringing the score up to 5-0. Offensive struggles continued for the Titans, with only 3 shots attempted that were all saved by the Rockets goalkeeper. The 1st half ended with a 5-0 difficult Titan deficit. Signs of offensive progression slowly started to show for the Titans with a bringing in some offensive strength as the new half began. Einstein started attempting more shots for the first time in the game, taking a total of 11 shots but was blocked from the impressive saves by Rockets Goalie Charlie Finnegan, recording 8 saves from actively throwing his body in and preventing Einstein from adding a number to the home scoreboard. Another Charlie came in to provide benefit for Richard Montgomery, #2 Charlie Maust scored three powerful goals as the 2nd player to record a hat trick and bring the deficit up to 8, ending the quarter 8-0. The Titans wanted to finish the game strong in preventing the season finale ending to sorrowly, going into the 4th quarter. #9 Rabjaabtavousi wanted to play alongside his teammate in becoming the 3rd player to secure a hat trick, quickly claiming the title after a low powerful shot going in the bottom right of the net, as the Rockets fired up with the 3 rocket boost players dominating the game. #11 Donovan Carnell would put the first points on the board for Einstein as the Titan crowd finally cheered. These cheers slowly went quiet after #11 Dillon Kraft added 2 swifty goals onto the board, increasing the deficit. The Rockets would add one more onto the game, with the game ending 12-1 with the Rockets claiming the North ll Regional champions title. Richard Montgomery will advance to state tournaments as the Titans finish the season 8-4.

On May 2, the Titans dominated against the Kennedy Cavaliers with a 27-2 score It was senior night for the Einstein Titans, in celebration of a total of 16 Seniors for their performances and personality they bring for the team. These seniors made sure they left their mark in their last regular season game. The Titans entered the 1st quarter with full aggressiveness, ending up with a total of 13 goals scored in the 1st quarter. #7 Lucien Johnson was seen playing with the weak Kennedy Defense, scoring 6 goals in the 1st and securing back to back hat tricks. Kennedy would score two goals early but the deficit continued to grow going from 4 to 11 in quick minutes. 7 out of the 8 players who scored were all seniors but #18 Charlie Kushmider, a humorous pattern. The quarter ended with a 13-2 Titan Domination. It grew much worse for Kennedy as the 2nd quarter started. The Titans continued to stay strong in making sure the lead grew even longer. Mercy Rule did not apply for the Titans as it only goes into effect in the 2nd half. Johnson put in more blast to continue the strong lead, scoring the opening goal in the 2nd quarter.The Titans scored 6 more additional goals with the entire quarter staying in Kennedy territory, with goalie True Hawkins having no worries. #2 Johnathan Windt scored two strong long shot goals, then hitting a celebratory backflip once he gained the hat-trick. The first half ended 20-2. The Mercy rule finally started as the 2nd half started but remained much quieter for the Titans. Substitutes entered the game for the Titan with little starters staying in Play. #11 Donovan Carnell started the 2nd half with two additional goals as the half started and was the 3rd senior player of the game to achieve a hat trick. Kennedy only took 1 shot in the 3rd as the defense struggled in allowing Johnson to record his 8th goal of the game. The quarter ended with a 23-2 Titan blowout. The 4th quarter only remained with JV bump ups getting their playtime for Einstein and Kennedy playing for good morale. #8 Evan Vonkerczeck scored his first varsity goal near the 4:30 mark. Vonkerczeck later scored a highlight reel spin move shot seconds later. Windt’s brother, #25 AJ Windnt also scored along with his brother and hit the same backflip move his brother performed. The final regular game season drained out for the seniors with a final score of 27-2 with an Einstein Victory. The Titans finish the season with an 8-4 record as the Kennedy Cavaliers finish the heart-crushing season winless with a 0-12 record.

On April 29, the Einstein Titans defeated the Gaithersburg Trojans in a 11-7 competitive match. Einstein entered the game with not much confidence due to knowing Gaithersburg is on the same level. The Titans started aggressive pushing up towards the creese going into the First, taking up to 6 shots inches away from the creese, with only one going in from player #7 Lucien Johnson. Despite the strong aggressiveness, the Trojans progressed on Einstein with long shots beyond the crease, scoring 3 long shot goals from players #13 and 2 goals from #7, ending the quarter with a 2-3 Trojan lead. Going into the 2nd quarter, the game remained a yellow flag frenzy, with Einstein having a total of 6 penalties in the first half and Gaithersburg having 5 penalties. Einstein saw the effectiveness of the long shot goals Gaithersburg had, flipping the game strategy into taking more longer shots away from the crease.It later helped Einstein as the titans scored 3 of these long goals from #1 Robbie Clabuilt and #11 Donovan Carnell. Johnson made sure to keep Einstein leveled with Gaithersburg, pulling in 2 extra goals and securing the Hat Trick. The first half ended 6-5 with Einstein’s first lead of the game. Einstein seen to had find its flow at the start of the 2nd half, starting with an early Goal by #2 Johnathan Windt. The titans maintained the majority of the ball until the last 6 minutes of the game, where Gaithursberg consumed the majority of time in Einstein Territory. The Trojans would score two goals within staying in Einstein territory tying the game, but Clabuilt wouldn’t allow the game to stay tied, scoring an overhead goal with 1:20 remaining. Gaithersburg would make one final push as the quarter was close to ending with a 1 on 1 situation between Gaitherburg and Einstein, ending with a strong save by Einstein goalie True Hawkins. Hawkins would finish the quarter much stronger with 5 goals and ending with a 8-7 Titan lead. Momentum fully shifted towards Einstein as Gaithurberg demonstrated signs of Low Stamina within the start of the 4th quarter. The Titans started it off with a wide open Carnell goal and later with a rare D-pole Long shot goal from #21 Peter Mcright, all within a 20 second span. Johnson would later score the dagger and end the game with 5 goals. Gaithersburg played their subs and only took a total of 4 shots which were all saved by the much more improved Hawkins, as Hawkins ended with an additional 4 saves and made sure to "lock in" within the entirety of the 2nd half. Time expired with a final score of 11-7 for the Titans. The Titans move up to 7-4 and will face Kennedy on senior night as the Trojans Drop down to 5-6 and will face Quince Orchard on the road.

On April 23, Walter Johnson took over Einstein stadium in a 7-12 Titan defeat against the Wildcats. The game started with a strong attack demonstrated by the Titans, pushing more upfront towards the middle of the creese. This move was a bold move as a lot of space was left open near the Einstein defense. The Wildcats saw this and took advantage of it after the Titans failed to score from two long shots and allowed the Wildcats to possess the ball. WJ player #11 Henry Dash showed off his speed and scored a powerful long shot goal against Einstein. The Wildcats gained lots of momentum from this goal, with Dash scoring adding one more in the first quarter and with a spin move goal by #13 Gavin Heartz. The quarter ended with a 4-0 Wildcat lead. Entering the 2nd quarter, the Wildcats continued to maintain offensive possession, with Dash leading up to his name and scoring a goal with his speed, securing the hat-trick. The Titans knew they had to reduce this deficit as soon as possible, in which Einstein player #7 Lucien Johnson scored a strong goal into the top corner of the net. Although this would motivate Einstein players, WJ player #37 Owen Struzzerio scored 36 seconds later, making the Titan comeback more difficult. Johnson scored one more goal, along with Titans player #2 Johnathan Windt from an intercepted pass. The strong run ended quickly, after a goal by WJ that barely surpassed the back of the net. The first half ended with a 3-7 WJ lead. Einstein player #5 Dillon Mitchell made sure to boost the Titans morale, scoring an impressive long shot goal from the left side of the field going into the start of the 3rd quarter. The WJ defense standed out the most in this game, with Einstein losing the ball from behind the back stick checks. Mitchell was able to break through this harder WJ defense, scoring a jump shot goal. Despite the lead getting smaller, the Wildcats scored 4 more goals, with most goals being shot at the bottom area of the goalie. The quarter ended 5-11 and not looking good for Einstein. Most players were subbed out in the 4th quarter for the Wildcats as the starters were seen done for the day. Substitutes were in play for WJ with no worries due to the high lead and having the biggest roster in MOCO, with 34 total players. The game remained slow until Einstein player #11 Donovan Carnell and Johnson both scored in the span of minutes, to make the deficit much smaller. Substitute player #37 Owen Struzzerrio scored his first goal off of the bench to end the game 7-12. Einstein drops to 4-4 and will next face Watkins mills while the Wildcats will move to 5-4 and will next face Damascus.

One of the wettest games I’ve recorded this season, pulled up to Paint Branch HS for varsity boys LAX between Richard Montgomery Rockets & the Paint Branch Panthers. While the Rockets obtained victory in a shutout, the Panthers did not give up. BIG SHOUTS to the ROCKETS and PANTHERS. Keep grinding and putting in the work. SPECIAL THANKS to PAINT BRANCH for your hospitality and for those who asked me months ago to come out. Appreciate you!!! Enjoy the highlights!!!! Final Score: ROCKETS - 12 PANTHERS - 0 👀 MFV U📺🔗⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElaT7bGOmWQ

Last night (4/9), the Magruder Colonels thrash the Blue Devils of Springbrook at home with a dominating score of 11-0. After losing their last game versus Poolesville, the Colonels bounced back to make their record 2-3. This team has now one two games by 11 goals, with their first one being an impressive 12-1 win versus Watkins Mill. This is definitely a team to keep an eye out for this season. Come out to their next game versus the Quince Orchard Cougars @ Quince Orchard High School at 7:15 PM and watch them run the show again!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lA_zCYZr7M