John Sothoron’s path to stardom as a goalkeeper for the Towson men’s lacrosse program wasn’t exactly scripted. After lining up primarily as an attackman, he was shifted from offense to defense by Agostino “Mickey” DiMaggio,head coach at the Charlotte Hall Military Academy in St. Mary’s County.
Sothoron initially resisted the move – until DiMaggio challenged him.
“He said, ‘Put down your stick, and I’m going to keep firing shots at you,’” recalled Mary Sothoron, John’s wife. “John got so angry that he said, ‘I can stop anything you throw at me,’ and Mickey said, ‘I’ve got myself a goalie.’ That’s where it started.”
Sothoron, who earned All-American status with the Tigers before becoming a high school coach and helping develop the youth lacrosse system in St. Mary’s County, died of acute leukemia June 28. He was 74.
While at Towson , Sothoron amassed a 36-9 record as a starting goalie. In 1972, he became an All-American and finished his career with 578 saves, which is tied for third in school history with his son, Reed.
The third of four children raised in Charlotte Hall by the former Jane Spaulding Bennett, a teacher, and Norwood Sothoron, commandant at Charlotte Hall Military Academy, Sothoron attended Charlotte Hall for his middle and high school years.
“He loved the military school,” Mary Sothoron said, adding that her husband helped establish a museum devoted to the academy. “He was very patriotic because of his dad.”
In college, Sothoron contributed to the 1972 Towson team that defeated traditional powerhouses Syracuse, North Carolina and Duke and was selected to represent the school in the North-South College All-Star game.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Jay, Reed and Tyler Sothoron followed their father’s footsteps as goalkeepers at Greensboro, Towson and Virginia Wesleyan, respectively. But John did not expect his sons to play the same position or match his level of success, Reed Sothoron said.
“I didn’t feel the pressure that maybe some people do feel from something their dad accomplished,” Reed Sothoron said. “My dad was very good at channeling that away and communicating that to me.”
Mary Sothoron said her husband “loved” his time with the Tigers, which might have had something to do with meeting his future wife when he was a sophomore and she was a freshman in 1969. Mary said she noticed him during a football game, and then they were set up through friends.
“I don’t know if you want to say we fell hard, but we never dated anyone else,” she said. They married in 1973.
After graduating in 1973, John Sothoron coached St. Mary’s College and won two Tri-State Conference championships. He was named the league’s coach of the year in 1979. After one year as an assistant coach at the University of Pennsylvania in 1981, he spent seven years as a carpenter’s assistant before launching the boys lacrosse program at St. Mary’s Ryken High School in 1989. He would remain coach for 26 years.
In 1995, Sothoron was instrumental in starting the St. Mary’s County Youth Lacrosse League.
“He converted me, and I never looked back,” said Joe Parker, who went from high school soccer player to short-stick defensive midfielder at Salisbury University, where he helped capture three straight NCAA Division III titles from 2003 to 2005. “It was really the sport I was looking for. I played soccer which was fun, and I wrestled which was a good challenge. But lacrosse just had everything for me, and Coach Sothoron took an interest and knew the game.”
Sothoron guided the Knights to 11 consecutive Maryland State Independent championships and one Washington Catholic Athletic Conference title in 2007. He amassed a coaching record of 410-144 before retiring in 2015.
Parker credited Sothoron with shaping numerous lacrosse players in St. Mary’s County.
“Everybody wanted to be a part of what he was doing,” Parker said. “He was a legend by the time I got there.”
In retirement, John and Mary Sothoron vacationed frequently at their second home in the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. John enjoyed working on his prize-winning antique 1954 Chris Craft wooden boat and traveling.
Sothoron was diagnosed last August with a rare blood cancer that contributed to the acute leukemia that eventually overtook him. Mary said her husband of 51 years declined to undergo chemotherapy treatment.
“He said, ‘Mare, why do I want to do that?’ We both agreed,” she said, adding that he went jet skiing a week before he died. “I wanted him to enjoy the last years of his life, which we did.”
In addition to his wife and son Reed, Mr. Sothoron is survived by two other sons, Jay Sothoron , of Dallas, Texas, and Tyler Sothoron, of New Orleans, Louisiana; three siblings, Cokie Sothoron, of Youngsville, North Carolina, Peggy Wormwood, of Davidsonville, and Kenny Sothoron, of Mechanicsville; and two grandchildren with a third on the way.
A celebration of life is scheduled for Aug. 25 at 12 p.m. at St. Mary’s Ryken at 22600 Camp Calvert Rd. in Leonardtown.
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