BURTONSVILLE — Yes, defense wins championships.
It also ends title streaks.
Tim Iannarino and Chase Buscher each scored four goals, and Glenelg High held two-time defending Class 2A state champion Kent Island scoreless for almost the entire second half Saturday on the way to a 16-8 victory in a 2A state semifinal at Paint Branch High.
The third-seeded Gladiators (14-3) advance to Wednesday’s 2A state championship game, where they will face No. 5 seed Hereford (13-2) at 8 p.m. at Stevenson University’s Mustang Stadium in Baltimore.
“Hey, their defense was ready to play,” Kent Island head coach Bobby Woolley said of Glenelg, which held the Buccaneers (12-5) to their lowest goal total since a 12-4 loss at Urbana on April 8. “Certainly they played with a lot of energy early, which set the tone for how they were going to play for the day. It was tough. They got big, athletic kids coming at you. And it made for a little bit tougher time for us on offense.”
Mark Rees scored unassisted to give Kent Island a 1-0 lead less than 2 minutes into the game. But the Gladiators scored six of the game’s next seven goals for a 6-2 lead 1:17 into the second quarter.
The Buccaneers looked to be putting together a comeback, when Aidan Henry scored on an extra-man opportunity with 9:42 left in the half, and Keegan Green (two goals) netted an unassisted goal at the 9-minute mark, shaving Glenelg’s lead to 6-4.
But that’s where the rally ended.
Tim Iannarino came from behind the net and snapped a shot past Bucs goalie Christian Lemme with 7:53 left in the half. Collin Szczepanski set up a crank from Chris Iannarino with 3:02 remaining. Glenelg won the ensuing faceoff and Shane Dubois raced down the sideline before feeding Buscher for a goal to make it 9-4 with under 3 minutes to go in the opening half.
Kent Island senior captain Tucker Claxton scored to make it 9-5 with 2:15 left in the first half.
But the Bucs, who came in riding an eight-game winning streak, wouldn’t score again against Glenelg’s man-to-man defense until Green’s goal with 1:22 remaining in the game, going almost 35 minutes without a score.
“We watched film and their offense can really put the ball in the back of the net,” Glenelg head coach Josh Hatmaker said of the Bucs. “And they score in bunches. That’s always a concern. But I was confident in our kids and our goalie play. I thought team defense wise we played excellent today. That’s what we pride ourselves on.”
Conner Hammond’s goal with 25 seconds to go before intermission gave Glenelg a 10-5 halftime lead. That lead was extended to 12-5 in the third quarter. Buscher took a pass from Chris Iannarino, and with his back to the goal, flipped a backward shot into the net for an 11-5 lead near the halfway point of the third period. Brandon Klopp converted a DuBois pass to make it 12-5 heading into the fourth.
“Offensively, I thought we could exploit some things with their defense,” Hatmaker said. “And our kids really played as a whole unit, not just as an individual. That’s how our system is based. I thought they were really successful at it.”
Glenelg’s offense continued to be successful in the fourth. Tim Iannarino’s set up his brother’s third goal then scored his fourth on an EMO. Szczepanski scored unassisted with 4:27 left in the game, and 32 seconds later, Hammond scored another EMO to make it 16-5.
“I think they came out super intense,” Woolley said of Glenelg. “Kind of got some calls to go their way at some critical moments. That seemed to take some momentum (from us), that they gained; put us in a tough spot. Big mental game today. They threw some really heavy punches that we really didn’t have the ultimate counter to.”
Kent Island ended its near 35-minute scoring draught with 1:22 left in the game, when Owen Wynot set up Green’s second goal. Wynot and Claxton each added an unassisted goal in the final 1:12.
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