Liberty stifles Westminster in field hockey victory, 3-0
Chapelgate, Glenelg Country celebrate Dig Pink
Liberty field hockey’s defense is a relatively new unit, made up of experienced talent and some new faces.
Senior Grace Fenner and junior defender Christine Goetz returned this fall as All-Carroll County first-team selections from last season, and the duo welcomed senior Lindsay Kovack, who made the transition from offense to defense, along with freshman Jolie Feltz.
In a short period of time, they’ve jelled and become a cohesive back line. On Monday, with the reigning Carroll County Athletic League champions in town, the defense showcased itself.
The Lions held the Owls to two shots on goal to give Liberty a 3-0 win.
“We are really close in practices and we have a really good time on the bus,” said Goetz, a three-year starter for Liberty (7-1, 3-0 county). “We just try to be ourselves and so we open up to our teammates so we can all understand each other.”
The yearly roster turnover presents a challenge for every team, but Liberty coach Brenda Strohmer said she counts on the older players like Fenner, Goetz, and Heidi Ellis to take on mentorship roles.
In return, the transition has been that much more seamless for new players joining the varsity, and the Lions are seeing results.
Kayleigh Ward found the back of the cage for Liberty’s first goal with 13:12 to go in the first half.
Caitlynn Szarko tallied the assist and the freshman finished with two for Liberty.
Westminster senior goalie Lauren Jenne made 13 saves, but the Owls’ offense couldn’t get going. Westminster (6-2, 3-1) had its six-game winning streak ended.
SEVERNA PARK 5, MARRIOTTS RIDGE 0: Severna Park’s 5-0 victory over Marriotts Ridge would understandably lead a person to believe the Falcons (7-2) had stepped off the bus and rolled over the hosting Mustangs for the next 60 minutes. But that’s not what happened at all. “I will say, this is a very good team we played,” Severna Park coach Shannon Garden said. “And though the score doesn’t reflect it, I feel like they were in it the whole time and we still had to go really hard.
“Putting together 60 minutes of hard play, that’s what made the difference today.”
Four of the five Falcons goals’ came in the first half. Four came in the first third.
“Really only about 13 minutes, they controlled the game. We held them to a 0-0 game between 17 minutes in the first half,” Mustangs coach Stacie Gado said. “Looking at the game as a whole, we — I don’t want to say dominated — but we did control the ball for 45 minutes in a 60 minute game.”
PATTERSON MILL 8, NORTH EAST 2: Sarah McCollum scored three goals to lift the Huskies over the Indians.
Girls volleyball
CHAPELGATE3, GLENELGCOUNTRY0: Chapelgate players came to coach Stephanie Smith during the final week of last season with a proposal: they wanted to participate in a Dig Pink game to honor breast cancer survivors as a part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which occurs every October.
Smith liked the idea, so the Yellowjackets put together an event that proved to be a success, so much so that the program made it a priority to host a Dig Pink game this season. They chose to schedule the event against a nonleague opponent — hoping to take the pressure off of their players while having fun and maximizing awareness — and Chapelgate, the only other private school in Howard County, was one of the first programs they thought to ask. It just so happened that Glenelg Country coach Dennis Seibel reached out to the Yellowjackets first.
“I’ve been trying to get them on our schedule every year — playing here one Westminster’s Kirby Henneman, left, plays the ball as Liberty’s Jolie Feltz pursues during the first half of the Lions’ 3-0 win. year, there one year — and we could just never get it on the schedule last year” Seibel said. “In fact, we actually asked them about scheduling a game [this year], and they said, ‘Oh, we were going to contact you about a Dig Pink game.’ We said, ‘perfect.’ ”
The second annual Dig Pink match took place at Chapelgate on Monday night, with the Yellowjackets picking up their fifth win of the year courtesy of a 25-10, 25-12, 25-19 sweep. However, the Yellowjackets and Dragons likely won’t remember the final score. They’ll instead recall the reason they coordinated the event in the first place.
Jess Lucas paced the Yellowjackets (4-3 IAAM B Conference, 5-5 overall) with eight service aces and six kills, but her statistics paled in comparison with the feeling she had honoring her grandmother before the contest.
Clad in a pink headband, pink and blue jersey and pink ribbon breast cancer awareness socks, Lucas presented her grandma with a journal for her to reflect on her struggles and remember her triumphs. Last season, her grandmother received flowers and a small Dig Pink ball with every varsity player’s signature.
Three survivors were honored Monday night: Lucas’ grandmother, mother of Yellowjackets junior Mercy Shih and Chapelgate Director of Enrollment Cindy Barr.
ST. PAUL’S 3, MCDONOGH 1: Shelby Lucas led all hitters with 21 kills and Jalen Dickerson added 13 kills to lift the Gators over the Eagles, 25-18, 22-25, 25-15, 25-15.
Boys soccer
NO. 14 CALVERT HALL 5, ST. PAUL’S 0: Ryan Fascetta scored two goals to help the Cardinals (5-3) beat the Crusaders (2-6-1) in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference matchup.