“We needed an alpha, and we brought him in to be the alpha,” Stagnitta said postgame on Pannell’s first season with the Whipsnakes.
Then, less than a minute later, Aidan Carroll (2G, 1A) delivered a beautiful spin dodge to set up a wide-open goal. He set the single-season record for goals by a Whipsnakes rookie (21), passing TJ Malone’s 19 from 2024.
Pannell found Colin Heacock (1G) to extend Maryland’s run and captured his 300th career assist, becoming the first player in professional lacrosse history to reach that milestone.
Christian Mazur (1G) opened the Whipsnakes’ fourth-quarter scoring, and then Pannell and Adam Poitras (2G, 1A) tacked on two more to push Maryland’s lead to six.
Nine different Whipsnakes players found the back of the cage: Pannell, Carroll, Poitras, Mazur, Heacock, Malone (2G), Matt Brandau (3G, 1A), Joe Nardella (1G) and Brad Smith (1G)
“I am really, really proud of these guys,” Stagnitta said. “… I think we learned how to put four quarters together.”
Maryland’s 8-1 second-half run propelled the Whips to the No. 2 seed in the East and set up their third matchup against the Waterdogs this season. They’ll face off in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Aug. 23.
Sarah Griffin: Cannons collapse in must-win finale
The Cannons entered their Homecoming Weekend with two chances to clinch a playoff berth. They left with two losses and a season cut short in a devastating loss to the Whipsnakes.
After falling in a one-goal thriller to the Redwoods on Friday night, the Cannons returned to Harvard Stadium for a win-or-go-home matchup. But the same issues that haunted them in the first half against the Redwoods appeared once again in the second half versus the Whipsnakes.
“We just didn’t seem to come out and make the plays right at the beginning of the halves,” head coach Brian Holman said. “I thought in the second half, we looked a little slower. Some of those balls we didn’t get to, and bounces.”
The Cannons kept pace early, with Asher Nolting setting the tone and Jeff Trainor providing energy on both ends of the field. But as the game progressed, the Whipsnakes took control. Maryland dominated at the faceoff stripe, and their defensive unit was locked in — locking out Boston. The Cannons managed just one goal in the third quarter, and the deficit ballooned from there.
A diving wraparound goal from Marcus Holman was overturned in a moment that felt emblematic of the night: flashes of the team that once looked like one of the best in the league, but nothing to show for it.
Still, Coach Holman remained proud of his team’s character in the wake of a difficult and emotional weekend.
“There’s not a guy in that room I would trade for any other in this league,” he said. “They work hard. They’re good people. They care for each other and care about the sport.”
The Cannons finished the season 4-6, just outside the playoff picture. For Boston, the climb was constant this weekend, and ultimately, it proved too steep.
“I just want to get this team over the hump,” Brian Holman said. “We’ll get back to work and put a better product on the field.”
