Dulaney junior long pole defender Max Cooper intercepted a pass and raced the length of the field to score the game-winning goal with 18.9 seconds left and give visiting Dulaney a 10-9 victory over Catonsville on Tuesday, on the Comets’ senior night.
The Comets were trying to set up a play for their leading scorer, Ben Hipszer, who had two goals, including the equalizer with 3.50 remaining. Cooper, who has scored with his long pole before, was familiar with his game-winning shot.
“[Hipszer] is an amazing player. He’s been doing that backside cut all day. We saw that on film and we know that’s coming. They are looking straight to him and I get a stick there,” Cooper said. “I mean it’s a little lucky, but I get my stick on the ball, go down, I mean, that’s my shot since freshman year, that high bouncer, that goalie was seeing it really well today.”
Cooper was unbothered and his mind went blank as he motored down the center of the field.
“I don’t really remember it,” he said. “I kind of blacked out a little bit at the end there, but I end up on the ground and the ball is in the net.”
“We had a look we knew we wanted to try against them,” Catonsville coach KR Schultz said. “[Cooper] is very good, we didn’t do anything wrong on that. [Cooper] is legit and he made a good play.”
Cooper was overjoyed by spoiling the Comets’ senior day after what happened to his veteran teammates last year on their senior day.
“I love to do that,” he said. “Last year our game ended at our home on an overtime winner from one of their poles, so I love to do it back to them.”
Cooper was just part of the success story on the defensive end for Dulaney (8-5). Goalie Jake Carlson made 10 saves, including six in the second half when Catonsville (6-7) was inching back after a 6-4 halftime deficit.
“He played out of his mind,” Cooper said. “He was keeping us in that game. He’s been doing that all year. I love that guy.”
Dulaney defensive coach Nick Ricucci, brother of head coach Mike Ricucci, wasn’t surprised by Cooper’s game-winning play.
“He pushed transition.” he said. “We told him, ‘Hey, if no one picks you up, you have the green light to go ahead and go.’ He’s one of our captains so we want the ball in his stick.”
Cooper won the ensuing faceoff after his go-ahead goal, but Catonsville’s Will Turner forced a turnover and Catonsville got off one final shot by J.P. Dement that bounced over the net at the buzzer.
“Their team is scrappy, they play hard, they do great things and our boys have been working hard all season,” Mike Ricucci said. “We told our guys get one percent better every game and it finally came to fruition in our last two where we put it together.”
Dulaney was led on offense by Constantine Bellios (three goals), Jacob Murray (two goals, one assist), Jeff Ackerman (two goals), Ryan Dannenfelser (one goal, three assists) and Carter Habicht (one goal, two assists).
Catonsville was led by Dement (three goals), Hipszer and Zack Berlin (three assists).
Of the 16 Comet seniors honored before the game, the most inspirational goal came from senior Isaac Powell, who was only slated to play the first 15 seconds because he has a torn ACL that will require surgery. Cam Ward, who won 14 of 22 faceoffs, won the opening draw and raced down and fed Powell for the goal nine seconds into the game. Powell limped to the sideline with his brace on and didn’t play again.
“He tried to play through it. He tore it, came back a few weeks later and tried to play through it and it buckled on him, so he was done,” Schultz said. “He’s an awesome young man and I’m gutted for him that he didn’t get his senior year in the way that we expected him to, but It was a cool little story to bookend the season.”
Neither team led any more than a goal until the final 70 seconds of the first half. Murray scored off a Habicht assist and with 11 seconds left in the half, Ackerman scored off Ben Shaw’s feed for a 6-4 Lions lead.
Catonsville pulled within one, 7-6, in the final seconds of the third quarter when Berlin assisted Vaughn Quinby.
With 6:50 left in the game, Dulaney’s Habicht scored off Murray’s assist and the lead was back to two, but goals by Dement and Hipszer tied it, setting up Cooper for the game-winning heroics.
“We asked for three goals from our offense in the fourth quarter, they gave it to us and we knew if we got three we win and we got it,” Mike Ricucci said.
DUL — 3 3 1 3 — 10
CAT — 2 2 2 3 — 9
Goals: Dul: Constantine Bellios 3, Jacob Murray 2, Jeff Ackerman 2, Ryan Dannenfelser 1, Carter Habicht 1, Max Cooper 1; Cat: J.P. Dement 3, Ben Hipszer 2, Isaak Powell 1, Colin Fox 1, Lucas Rivera 1, Vaughn Quinby 1,
Assists: Dul: Dannenfelser 3, Habicht 2, Murray 1, Ben Shaw 1; Cat: Zack Berlin 3, Fox 1, Rivera 1, Quinby 1
Saves: Dul: Jake Carlson 10; Cat: Rory Gibbons 7.
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