‘Stoked’ Hereford girls in final
Bulls edge No. 2 Glenelg in rematch, will face South Carroll
No. 5 Hereford had been waiting a year for its shot at redemption and, thanks to a big second half, the Bulls made the most of it.
Trailing by two at the half of the Class 2A state semifinals Saturday against three-time defending state-champion No. 2 Glenelg — the team that beat the Bulls in last year’s title game by a goal — Hereford responded with a 6-1 run out of the break to establish a lead it never lost the rest of the way en route to a 9-8 victory.
“We were 100 percent totally stoked to play them again, this was the rematch we wanted. Everyone thought we had no chance last year, but we stuck with them until the end and now this year we just wanted it so much more,” said Hereford senior defender Rachel Saunders. “We knew today was going to be a fight until the end, but we just feel like this is our year.”
It was the Hereford (17-0) defense, anchored by Saunders, which came up with three critical stops in the final two minutes to protect the one-goal lead. The final stop came with just 13 seconds left, as the Bulls’ defense swarmed around Glenelg (14-4) midfielder Jenny Giampalmo and drew a call for illegal cradling.
Hereford received possession and then ran out the clock, celebrating on the field a victory that secures a championship matchup against South Carroll on Tuesday at Paint Branch at 6 p.m.
“I give all the credit to the girls, they were extremely motivated, they followed the game plan and they played all the way until that final whistle,” Hereford coach Anne Ensor said. “You know coming in that it’s going to take a complete team effort to beat a team like that and that’s exactly what we had.”
Two goals in the first three minutes out of intermission off the sticks of Lindsay Clarke (2 goals) and Isabella Peterson (3 goals and 1 assist) tied the score. Then, after a Glenelg goal from Kirsten Crawford, four more goals in a span of 10 minutes gave the Bulls their largest lead of the game at 8-5.
Patterson Mill 18, Boonsboro 5: Elise Alders’ goal 1:16 into Saturday morning’s Class 1A state semifinal started a string of 10 straight for the Huskies at James R. Harris Stadium in Havre de Grace.
The Huskies (10-6), defending 1A state champs, were up 10-0, 17 minutes into the game before the Warriors scored their first goal.
“We’re very excited, we have had a crazy season of ups and downs. We’ve won some great games and we lost games that we should have won,” Huskies head coach Kim Burgasser said. “So, it is very exciting, but we really stressed this year that it really matters who shows up at the game.”
The state title game is set for 4 p.m. Tuesday at Paint Branch High School.
On Saturday, Alders’ goal, assisted by Beth Bruck, was followed by a pair of free-position goals from Bruck and Kate Springer. Alders then scored a pair, one assisted by Bruck and the other a freeposition goal.
Springer then added her second after a defensive stop at the other end.
The Huskies defense and goalie Faith Treptow (six saves) continuously stymied the Boonsboro attack.
Loch Raven 16, McDonough 5: There was a time this season when playing for a state title seemed like a distant dream for Loch Raven. After opening the season with six straight losses, the Raiders simply wanted to win a game.
“We started off really rough,” junior Tatum Joyce said. “Then we had one game where we saidO, `k, that’s enough.’ Everyone was playing really selfish. We had to start coming together more.”
With a win over McDonough of Charles County in the Class 1A state semifinals at Northeast High, Loch Raven showed just how far it has come. Joyce finished with five goals and two assists and freshman teammate Emily Ryan added four goals and three assists, as the Raiders dominated from start to finish to earn a shot at their first state title since 1995.
“Even though our record wasn’t all that in the regular season… I always tell the ladies – that was season one, and now we’re in season two,” Raiders coach Rob Persing said. “Our goal is five games and get the title. We’re four down, one to go.”
Loch Raven (6-10) advances to play Patterson Mill, an 18-5 winner over Boonsboro in the other semifinal. The game is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday (4 p.m.) at Paint Branch in Burtonsville.
Boys lacrosse
No. 9 Severna Park 12, Winston Churchill 4: The thought before every big game has been the same for the Severna Park boys lacrosse team in recent years, echoed once again by coach Dave Earl on Saturday.
“If we can go out and play Severna Park lacrosse, I think we should be OK,” he said.
And that’s what the No. 9 Falcons did in the Class 4A state semifinal against Winston Churchill, taking hold early and never letting up for a win at Gaithersburg High School that puts them one victory away from a fourth straight state title.
Michael Harmeyer (five goals), Connor Panebianco (three goals, two assists) and James Maher (five assists) precisely executed the offense; Colin Shadowens more than held his own on faceoffs and goalie Casey Fox made nine saves as the Falcons dominated every phase.
Severna Park (18-1) will meet Howard – a 15-2 winner over Bowie in Saturday’s other semifinal – for the championship, set for 8 p.m. Wednesday at Paint Branch High School.
No. 8 Westminster 16, J.M. Bennett 6: The pressure of playing in a state tournament seemed almost non-existent on Westminster’s sideline.
The Owls came into Saturday’s Class 3A semifinal with their share of confidence, much of which stemmed from being the reigning state champs and owning a 35-game win streak. Before halftime ended, rather than get too caught up in the moment, many of Westminster’s players sang along to Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” that played over the public address system at Mount Hebron High School.
The Owls cruised past James M Bennett to advance to the Class 3A title game for a second year in a row.
And they made it look relatively easy — junior Conner Covey led the way with five goals, senior attackman Bubba Love netted four, and fellow senior Chase Buckwalter added three.
When they weren’t swaying or pumping their fists to a late 1960s soft rock classic, the Owls were busy congratulating each other after smooth transitions and crisp passes that led to plenty of offense.
“We’re all pretty much just brothers,” Love said. “We’re playing not only for ourselves, but for everyone else.”
Westminster (18-0) won its 36th consecutive game by taking control in the first quarter. The Owls led 5-1 with 4:30 remaining after Love scooped up a loose ball and tucked it behind Bennett goalie Cayden Atkins.
Glenelg 12, No. 13 Hereford : Every kid growing up remembers how unfair playing make-it take-it was during a pickup basketball game.
It made one team’s chances of making a comeback exponentially more difficult.
Make-it take-it also exists in boys lacrosse. A dominant faceoff specialist can take over the game and give his team possession after every goal scored.
Mason Davis was that guy for Glenelg on Saturday and carried the Gladiators to a victory over Hereford and to the 2A state championship game for the second time in three seasons and 11th in the last 22 years.
Glenelg (12-6) will face Century 6 p.m. Tuesday at Paint Branch High School for a chance to win its first state title since 2011 and fourth overall.
“Possessions are always key. That’s what we’ve been saying all season,” said Davis, a junior who won 19 out of 21 draws and also assisted two goals. “Possession is key to winning the game and when we get our offense the ball we’re going to score. We’re confident in that.”
Offensively, seven players scored for Glenelg and Kevin Doughty, Michael Doughty, Kyle Dry and Ryan Hopkins each found the back of the next on multiple occasions.-
Northern-Calvert 11, No. 15 Towson 4: It took nine seconds, after J.P. Gross won the opening faceoff, to feed Matt Holland for a goal, giving Northern (18-1) a 1-0 lead over Towson (16-5) in the Class 3A state semifinals at Mount Hebron.
A tick under a minute later, Markie Nicholson scored again and the floodgates opened as the Patriots scored nine of the first 10 goals in the first half and cruised to a 12-4 victory.
They will play Westminster in the state championship game Wednesday at Paint Branch High at 6 p.m..
Howard 15, Bowie 2: After missing out on playing in the state championship game the last two seasons, the Lions will return to the final after defeating Bowie in the Class 4A semifinal on Saturday.
“We’ve been working very hard to get to this point,” said senior midfielder Henry Frazier. “We’ve gone through a lot of adversity this season, and the feeling to finally get back here is unreal.”
Howard played in the state final in each season from 2014 through 2016, winning in 2015. Frazier was a freshman at Howard, along with eight other Lions, the last time the Lions reached the state title game.
“I was on the sideline. I didn’t get pulled up, but I was the water boy,” Frazier said. “I was there, and I was around the guys. I know that feeling. I never got to feel it on the field, so now that we’re here, we have to seize this opportunity.”
The Lions were coming off a 6-5 upset win over Urbana in the North region final, which secured Howard its sixth regional title in seven years. After an up-and-down regular season, Frazier said the team believed it could advance to the state title contest when the postseason began.
“After the Urbana game, we started thinking, ‘Why not us?’” said Frazier, who had an assist in the win over Bowie. “That’s been our motto throughout the playoffs.”
In the blowout win over Bowie, the Lions dominated time of possession and passed the ball effectively on offense. Nine of Howard’s 15 goals were assisted.
Archbishop Curley 12, Glenelg Country 3: Nate Rollins had a hat trick and Lee Rock and Gage Coolahan had two goals each to lead the Friars (16-4) past the Dragons (14-5) in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference championship at Towson University Friday.
“This is outstanding,” said Curley head coach Chris Ogle. “It’s been 11 years. We knew we’d be strong defensively this year, but we had some parts to replace on offense. The guys worked all year long together to get better.”
Patterson Mill 20, Smithsburg 11: The Huskies (16-1) scored early and often Friday night en route to a Class 1A state semifinal win over the Leopards (14-3) at Havre de Grace’s James R. Harris Stadium.
Senior Connor Madsen scored the first goal 1:19 into the game and finished with five goals and two assists to lead the Huskies, who are defending 1A state champions.