With Phipps in Goal, No. 7 Severn Has No Reason to Worry

Severn 10, Gonzaga 4

Brian Phipps wasn't necessarily considered the best goalkeeper on the Severn boys' lacrosse team a month ago. Now, seven games into the season, opponents say he is one of the best goalies in the state.

Thanks largely to Phipps's 11 saves, No. 7 Severn (4-3) dominated visiting Gonzaga (3-2) yesterday in a 10-4 win. Phipps, a junior who started the season splitting time with another goalie, made five saves in the first quarter, and Severn attackmen Pat Moran and Duke Gibbons each scored three goals.

"When you're going against a goalie playing like that, you don't have much of a chance," Gonzaga Coach Dave Doughty said. "He made every save he should have and probably six or seven saves he shouldn't have. He was the best we've seen."

Phipps split time in goal with junior Danny Coffman -- also a junior and a Division I prospect -- during Severn's first three games before eventually winning the job because of his field savvy. After playing as a midfielder during junior high, Phipps is as comfortable outside the goal as he is in it. Twice against Gonzaga, he made a save and raced downfield to ignite the Admirals' offense.

The offense, though, rarely needed Phipps's help. Severn scored the first two goals of the game and never trailed. During one stretch midway through the fourth quarter, Severn scored four goals in less than two minutes, expanding its lead from 6-3 to 10-3.

Severn's best natural scorer, midfielder Nick Elsmo, fractured his wrist in a game last week and will miss at least the next month, but the Admirals' offense seemed unbroken. Seven players scored for Severn.

"Our whole thing is team offense," said Gibbons, a senior. "If one player goes down, the rest of the team picks up the slack."

Said Moran, who stood next to Gibbons, "Yeah, and with Brian in goal, we don't have to score too much."