Wolters, young Sabres stop Eagles

“While we’re on the field, he’s not my son,” Coach Wolters said. “He’s just a player. And he knows that.”

But as he walked off the field Friday night, Todd Wolters couldn’t help but be one proud papa.

Hank Wolters made 22 saves, several in spectacular fashion, including one while falling to his back, as the Sabres held Indian Creek scoreless over the final 22 minutes, 32 seconds on the way to an 8-4 victory over the Eagles in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference clash.

“Twenty-two saves? That’s unbelievable,” Todd Wolters said.

And very few were easy.

With 4:11 remaining in the first quarter, Sts. Peter & Paul’s freshman goalie made a stop from his knees. A little over a minute later, Hank stopped a point-blank shot from Indian Creek’s Will Flint.

“Good game; (he) made a lot of key stops,” Indian Creek head coach Brian McGeeney said of Hank Wolters. “He held us to four. There’s really not much else to say there.”

Hank admitted had he not said something during his rec lacrosse days he may never had played goalie.

“It was a rec league game when I was little and they were like, ‘Who wants to be goalie?’” Hank said. “I was just, ‘Me, me, me.’ Because I had never tried it before. I always like trying something new. And I just stuck with it and fell in love with it ever since. Every save has my confidence going up and up and up.”

That confidence could have been shaken a bit when Indian Creek (3-4 overall, 1-2 MIAA B) got a goal from Tyler Stroble and two from Will Flint in a 1:35 span to create a 3-3 tie midway through the second quarter. The Eagles had a chance to take the lead only to have Hank foil Benny Carter on the doorstep with 5 minutes remaining in the half.

Sts. Peter & Paul (3-6, 2-0) regained possession and quickly worked downfield, where sophomore Noah Zimmerman (game-high five goals) unloaded one of his darts for a lead the Sabres never relinquished 4:25 before half.

That lead was bumped to 5-3 just before halftime, when Davis Kimminau (two goals) gained possession on the other side of the 50-yard line, blazed down the middle of the field, shot and scored before crash landing.

“Night and day,” Coach Wolters said when comparing his team at the start of the season and now. “I mean it’s not even the same team. They’ve always worked hard. Again, our catching and throwing is our Achilles’ heel. But we are getting better. And each day we’re getting better. I’m proud of them. “

Wolters said this easily the youngest team the Sabres have had since he’s been as assistant. Friday he started six freshmen and six sophomores.

And though Sts. Peter & Paul’s struggles connecting on the passing game cost it possessions, it never surrendered the lead. The Eagles drew within 5-4 with 1:28 elapsed in the third quarter when Stroble scored on a extra-man opportunity.

But that would be it for Indian Creek on the scoreboard.

“We got outworked,” McGeeney said. ”Pretty simple.”

Hank Wolters came up with another gem-like save with 4:22 left in the third to preserve Sts. Peter & Paul’s one-goal lead.

“He won us this game,” Porter Bishop, a promising freshman defenseman, said of his goalie. “That’s just Hank. He’s amazing.”

While Hank and his defensive crew of Bishop, Aaron Ewing, Langdon Anderson and company shut out Indian Creek the rest of the way, the offense — despite missing multiple opportunities on dropped passes — steadily added to the lead.

Nineteen seconds after Wolters’ save, Zimmerman converted a Kimminau pass for a 6-4 lead. Indian Creek tried to answer, as Caton Crowder fired a shot that Wolters made a leg save on with 2:11 left in the third. Sts. Peter & Paul got the ball back and melted some of the remaining clock before Kimmanau ripped a left-hand shot into the net for a 7-4 cushion.

Kimminau just missed a hat trick when he hit pipe in the closing seconds of the third. Zimmerman capped the scoring when he notched his fifth goal while airborne.

“Too many turnovers,” Bishop said. “But I think our hustle and fight and aggressiveness are definitely there. We have definitely come a long way since our first game. And I think we’ll just keep going up from here.”

Sts. Peter & Paul built a 3-0 first-quarter lead. Zimmerman scored 45 seconds into the game. Payton Willliams made it 2-0 with 4:35 left in the period when he collected a rebound off a Zimmerman shot. Zimmerman extended the lead to 3-0, slinging a sidewinder in with 1:32 left.

Girls’ Lacrosse

SSPP 21, Salisbury School 2

EASTON — Freshman Caroline Ewing scored five goals and senior Hattie Messick notched four goals and four assists as the Sabres won their 16th straight Eastern Shore Independent Athletic Conference game, dating back to 2019.

Morgan Quade had a hat trick and four assists for Sts. Peter & Paul (7-3, 3-0) and Kathryn Murphy had four assists. Evelyn Murphy finished with a pair of goals and three assists, Eryn Callahan and Keely Morgan netted a goal and one assist apiece, and Morgan Earls had a goal.

Kent Island 10 North Caroline 8

STEVENSVILLE — Sophomore Sydney Riska had two goals, an assist, and six draw controls to lead the Buccaneers (5-4, 2-0 North Bayside).

Lina Donoway had two goals for Kent Island, Allie Cimaglia totaled a pair of goals and two draw control wins, and Gabby Polk had two goals and three draw controls.