OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Catholic hit the road on Wednesday to take on the 19th-ranked Stevenson Mustangs, falling 22-11 in the contest.
The Cardinals were competitive early, trailing just 7-5 with 2:41 remaining in the first half before the Mustangs took over, outscoring Catholic 15-6 over the final 32:41.
The teams played an evenly matched opening 15 minutes with
Ryan Carickhoff matching Stevenson's opening goal at the 8:45 mark. Grant Zick put the Mustangs back ahead with 1:53 remaining in th first before
Brady McMahon scored off a turnover with 47 seconds left in the period.
The Mustangs scored the first five goals of the second period, jumping ahead by five with 6:40 on the clock.
Victor Rosado started a Catholic run, scoring a man-up goal 36 seconds later. With 5:32 left on the clock,
Steven Dezelic put one home with Rosado adding the assist this time. After a three-minute drought, Rosado scored his second of four goals to pull the Cardinals within two, but the Mustangs would score the final two goals of the half to build a four-goal advantage.
An early third-quarter run had the Cardinals battling with the 19th-ranked team as they trailed just 10-8 with 9:10 remaining in the period. Rosado's third goal was followed by goals number two and three from Carickhoff, keeping things tight before the Mustangs broke it open with a four-goal run. Despite
Ian McKinley ending the run with 1:56 left in the quarter, Zick added another to send the Mustangs into the final period with a six-goal lead.
Rosado added his fourth goal of the night with 9:03 to play, but the Cardinals already trailed by eight.
Mike Tayloe scored his first career goal late in the contest. Tayloe also caused two turnovers, as did Rosado.
Mason Russo led Catholic with three caused turnovers.
Liam Daly received heavy work in the contest, making 16 saves for Catholic.
Rosado's five-point effort pushes him over the 150 career point mark. Rosado becomes the seventh player in program history to reach 150 points, passing Sean Baudo ('22) and Brendan Englert ('13) to move into fifth all-time in points.
The Cardinals return to action on Saturday, welcoming McDaniel to Carlini Field for their home opener at 12 p.m.
