Minton’s goal keeps Falcons on top of county
Just one goal made the difference between first and second place in the Anne Arundel County girls lacrosse league Tuesday night.
Kayla Minton’s goal with 3:36 left gave Severna Park a 9-8 victory over No. 11 South River in a back-and-forth defensive struggle that was tied six times.
The Falcons (9-4) are the only team remaining undefeated in the county league. The Seahawks (11-2) have one league loss, so the two will meet again Monday for the county championship at Old Mill at 5 p.m.
That’s just fine with Severna Park’s Alex Miller, who scored four goals Tuesday night.
“It’s always a great game, super fun,” the junior midfielder said. “We love playing them. Great competition. They make us better every time we play them.”
Playing in the county league and the Class 4A-3A East region, the two often faced each other more than once a year. In 2015, they played four times, and that was the last time South River came away with a win.
The Falcons, with a strong defensive effort led by Mallory Martell, Kate Bray, Kaila Stasulli and Rachel Spilker, earned their six straight win in the series. They’ve won 10 of the past 11 meetings, and almost all of those games have been within a few goals.
Tuesday’s game couldn’t have been much closer. Neither team led by more than two goals.
The Seahawks, whose only previous loss had been to No. 6 Marriotts Ridge, had the final-two goal lead after they scored three straight to take a 7-5 edge on Alexis Grant’s free-position goal with 13:27 to go.
Severna Park answered that with a three-goal run to get the lead back on a Miller free-position goal with 10:41 left.
Kelsey Winters broke through with 5:41 left to tie the game again, at 8.
Severna Park’s Cam Chew won the next draw — an area the Falcons dominated 13-6 with Spilker, Chew and Miller winning most of them.
That draw control presented a quandary for Falcons coach Katilyn Hines, but when Minton saw an opening and went to goal for the eventual game-winner, it solved the problem.