Calvert Hall (Md.) is LaxRecords.com’s 2019 Team of the Year

The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association has seen some of the greatest teams and players in lacrosse history over its 95-plus years of existencee, but it has never seen a run like Calvert Hall (Md.) has made over the last three seasons.

Which is why Calvert Hall (Md.) becoming the first team in the conference’s history to win three straight conference championships earns the Cardinals LaxRecords.com’s 2019 Team of the Year.

Calvert Hall completed its season with a 15-7 win over St. Mary’s (Md.) in the MIAA A Conference championship to claim its third-consecutive MIAA A Conference title. The Cardinals are the first team since the MIAA formed in 1996 to win three-straight titles.

“They are the greatest team in league history,” former St. Paul’s head coach Rick Brocato said. “I think they’re so good, they can win four.”

Calvert Hall finished 10-0 in the conference. Their only loss this season was a 10-9 overtime loss to Hill Academy (Canada) on March 13.

The Cardinal’s outscored their opponents 266-to-99 and were even more impressive down the stretch and in the playoffs. In the final three games of the season, the scored 49 goals and allowed just 14. The defense held all but two opponents to nine goals or fewer this season.

“Every guy on the team wanted to do what was best for the team. If you watch us play offensively, you can’t say there’s one guy who held the ball too long,” Head Coach Bryan Kelly said. “Everybody kept moving the ball and whoever was open was going to score. That was a big part of our success.”

Prior to the MIAA forming, the conference was known as the Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA). The MSA formed in 1919 and had Maryland public school programs among its membership.

Even then, no team did what Calvert Hall managed. St. Paul’s won at least a share of the title from 1969 to 1971 in a time when no championship game was played.

They defeated nine teams ranked among Inside Lacrosse’s Top 50 teams and were Co-No. 1 with Culver Academy (Ind.). US Lacrosse ranked the Cardinals at No. 2.

“The competition of the league makes it extremely unique from top to bottom. It’s the most competitive league and it has been since the 1950s,” former St. Paul’s head coach Rick Brocato said. “It’s historical for our league.“