Jackson Kanzler, stingy defense lead Towson boys lacrosse past Linganore, 5-2, in 3A state semifinals

Towson senior Jackson Kanzler scored the first three goals of the game and the stellar defense anchored by goalie Alex Hochrein stonewalled Linganore in a 5-2 Generals victory in the Class 3A state semifinals at Glen Burnie High.

Towson advances to the championship game where they will face the winner of Saturday’s Severna Park-Marriotts Ridge game.

Kanzler’s first goal came one minute into the game from 20 yards out and his second came from nearly the same spot less than three minutes later.

“I just saw an opening during the game and I was firing all day,” Kanzler said.

His third goal, with 6:30 left in the first quarter, came from just outside the crease after a feed from Hudson Arrup.

“It’s huge and Jackson has kind of been in that position where guys have scouted him the last couple games, but tonight he played at a different level. He came out very motivated. I’m so proud of him,” Towson coach Phil Rossetti said.

“[Kanzler] has been playing really well all year and he’s committed to Salisbury a really good school and he’s playing phenomenal for us,” Hochrein said.

Hochrein only had six saves, but several came at key moments in the game.

“Alex was tremendous tonight,” Rossetti said. “He made some key stops for us. I’m so proud of him and we know Linganore is a good shooting team. We watched them on film, they take good bounce shots.”

Linganore’s first goal came when Cameron McGovern assisted Cody Griggis with 5:51 left in the first quarter.

It was the last goal for the next 28:20 for the Lancers while Towson extended the lead on a pair of Max Kosmides goals.

Towson’s long poles, that included Matt Spencer, Patrick Corbett, Zach Mangiafico and Jack Nowlan, was aggressive and killed three man-down penalties in the second and third quarter.

“Our long poles are some of the best in the state right now for a public school,” Hochrein said. “I love my defense. We play really well. We’ve been playing for three years together so we come out with a big win today and we are headed to the state championship.”

Kanzler, a midfielder, also had a stellar defensive game.

“I’m just happy how our defense played and just happy how the team played,” Kanzler said. “I’m so fired up, all practice we worked hard and we come out to play every single game.

“I’m just proud of everybody, the whole team played well, it starts from everyone on the field, to the bench, to the coaches, to managers, just about all of us, our motto is one heartbeat.”

Leading goal scorer Hudson Arrup, who came into the game with 34 goals, didn’t score, but Rossetti accepts that.

“One thing we preach to the guys this is team lacrosse. We don’t rely on one or two guys. When one guys is having kind of a night off the other guys step up and that’s kind of our motto here,” Rossetti said. “We are a team offense, everybody’s a threat and we have different scorers making plays for us, just super proud of them.”

It was the third year in a row Linganore lost in the state semis and the Lancers finished 14-3.

“We couldn’t catch and throw the ball today,” Linganore coach Rich Thompson said. “We feel like if we hold a team to five goals we should really win games.”

Rossetti has confidence in his defense when his offense isn’t firing on all cylinders.

“We don’t have to score a ton of goals if we stay disciplined and play the way we teach them and containing and we are playing smart, we feel like we can hold anybody, two goals today, but it’s hard to keep a team to two goals, but we felt that we have a lot of confidence in our defense right now, so I’m just proud of them,” he said.

Towson — 3 1 1  0 — 5

Linganore — 1 0 0 1 — 2

Goals: T – Jackson Kanzler 3, Max Kosmides 2; L – Cody Griggis 1, Cameron McGovern 1; Assists: T — Ansen Park 2, Hudson Arrup 1; L — McGovern 1, Brian Bedard 1. Saves: T – Alex Hockrein 6; Tucker Levenson 4.