REDEMPTION: Men's Lacrosse Regains Region 20 Crown, Topple Knights 18-10

COLUMBIA, MD – When Harford lost last year's Region 20 title game to the CCBC Essex Knights, it snapped a four-year streak. This past Sunday, the Fighting Owls captured their fifth region championship in six years as they took down the Knights 18-10 on the turf field of host Howard Community College.

"We're Proud to be Region 20 Champions again," said Fighting Owls head coach Aaron Verardi. "It wasn't as much about redemption as it was an important opportunity for the returners to lead the team after knowing what happened last year. Our program takes a lot of Pride in competing to be the best we can be all the time. Last year we learned the hard way that we can't forget that and disrespect what it takes to win a big game against a very good opponent."

The Fighting Owls now receive a bye and move on to the semifinals of the NJCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship as the No. 1 seed, as their journey to three-peat continues. For the third consecutive year, the semifinals and championship games of the tournament will be held at Harford Community College. The semifinals will be on May 10 and the championship game on May 11.

Harford (12-0) found itself in an early hole as CCBC Essex jumped ahead 3-1 midway through the first quarter. However, the Fighting Owls quickly responded with a three-goal run to seize a 4-3 lead.

George Shonfeld's (Stockport, Manchester, England) pass to Xander De La Ronde (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) ignited the comeback, and Kohl Wesner (Lancaster, PA) followed with a pivotal unassisted goal to pull Harford even. A goal from Drew Grau (Aspen, CO), off an assist from Wesner, capped the first-quarter rally.

The back-and-forth battle continued into the second quarter. After CCBC Essex (11-3) briefly regained a 6-5 advantage, Harford tightened its grip.

Wesner tied the game with another unassisted strike, then assisted Michael LaCouture (Latham, NY) for the go-ahead goal. Shonfeld added his second of the day before halftime, helping Harford carry a 9-7 lead into the break.

"We came into the game with the goal of playing our speed for 60 minutes," Verardi said. "At the half, we reminded ourselves that it starts with how how hard we ride, the pressure we put on teams when we defend, and how we swarm groundballs to push transition. Our guys came out and did that in the second half."

The third quarter proved decisive. The Fighting Owls dominated the period, outscoring the Knights 6-1.

Forsyth found the back of the net three times during the stretch. Wesner continued his stellar play with two more goals, while Will Goodwin (Cheadle, Manchester, England) and Eammon Donovan (Berwyn, PA) each contributed scores to push the lead to a commanding 15-8.

The Fighting Owls closed out the contest with a steady fourth quarter, outpacing the Knights 3-2 over the final 15 minutes. Wesner notched his game-high sixth goal, while Grau and Shonfeld each tallied to cap their multi-point performances.

Defensively, Harford's unit tightened after the first quarter, limiting CCBC Essex's looks and keeping the Knights from mounting any serious comeback.

In addition to Wesner's six goals and Forsyth's four, Shonfeld finished with three goals and two assists. Grau tallied two goals and two assists, while De La Ronde added a goal and an assist. LaCouture and Donovan each scored once. 

Cael Woody (Chattanooga, TN), Forsyth and Shonfeld earned All-Region 20 Tournament team honors. Wesner was named tournament Offensive MVP and with 13 saves in two games, goalie Jack Donovan (Towson, MD) was named Defensive MVP. 

Harford does not play again until the May 10th semifinal, opponent to be determined. However, the Fighting Owls leaders says his team's plan is to rest and get even better during the time off.

"We haven't had a bye week all season so the time to step back and make some self-improvements will be welcomed," Verardi said. "We're going to take this time to focus on all the things we know we can improve to become the best team that we can be. Our guys have known since the beginning that [playing in the national championship during] Mother's Day weekend is where we want to be at our absolute best."