Maryland field hockey makes mark
Coaches from five of the Baltimore area’s top field hockey teams viewed last weekend’s inaugural MAX Field Hockey High School National Invitational in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, as a chance to test their programs against some of the nation’s elite.
If the results of the three-day, 36-team tournament are any indication, the level of play from local powers is more advanced than many had imagined.
All told, top-ranked Garrison Forest, No. 2 Notre Dame Prep, No. 3 Arundel, No. 4 Archbishop Spalding and No. 9 McDonogh finished the weekend 6-4-2. Along the way, NDPscored a 2-1win over Sacred Heart Academy (Kentucky), the No. 18 team in the country, and Garrison Forest, itself ranked No. 24 nationally, took No. 13 Greenwich Academy (Connecticut) to sudden-death overtime before falling, 2-1.
“We fared way better than we thought we were going to,” NDP coach Katrina Ross said. “The exciting part about going into it was … having all this tough competition here in Maryland, and being able to see what the competition is like outside of our own state. It says a lot that we were up for the challenge and put Maryland field hockey on the map. That was definitely a sense of pride.”
Each of the five local teams came away with at least one win against opponents who received invitations by either finishing in the national or regional rankings last season, or by competing for a state or major conference championship.’
“As a whole, I think Maryland actually represented very well,” Arundel coach Carrie Vosburg said, adding that she was pleasantly surprised by the success of Baltimore-area teams. “It’s a wellknown fact that Pennsylvania is the mecca of field hockey and New Jersey is extremely strong. But I think sometimes in Maryland we are just underestimated. It was just nice to see all of us go out and do well.”
Arundel, for its part, pulled out a 2-2 tie against West Essex, the No. 3 team in New Jersey, before dominating Greene (New York), ranked No. 18 in the Northeast, 4-1. Garrison Forest also took down Assumption (Kentucky), ranked No. 11 in the West/Midwest region, and both Spalding and McDonogh scored wins against strong New Jersey teams. Severna Park 2, St. Mary’s 0: Emma Marsh and Lila Slattery scored and Lauren Aguilar, Carson Smith and Zoe Day led a strong defensive effort to help the Falcons hand the Saints their first defeat.
Falcons keepers Anne Grace Keller and Charley Kramer had little to do thanks to the backfield, as the Saints managed only three shots on goal. Reagan O’Toole made 11 saves for St. Mary’s.
Liberty 4, Centennial 1: Meghan Huey scored and added an assist Monday to help the Lions stay unbeaten through eight games. Caroline Evans added two assists and MiKayla Bull made nine saves in goal for the Lions.
Spalding 6, Good Counsel 0: Lindsay Beardmore scored a pair of goals, while Kristin O’Neill, Bridget Donovan, Jules Ramey and Katie Lombardo each scored to help the Cavaliers take down the Falcons. Keeley McNemar, Shelby Bumgarner, Cami Lucente and Lily Grant had an assist apiece and Ruby deFrees made two saves for Spalding.
Severn 3, Maryvale 2: Ally Dixon scored the tying and winning goals as Severn came back to defeat Maryvale.
Boys soccer
Dulaney 3, Catonsville 2: Senior Greg Borisov scored a goal in each half and senior Ashton Brown added a secondhalf goal as the visiting Lions defeated the Comets.
Catonsville got goals from Tacho Tha and Bryan Prince and assists from Nick Sirasky and Henry Horch. Cesar Minaya had the only assist for Dulaney.
Severn 2, Glanelg Country 0: Colin McCarthy and Jake Van Giesen each scored on assists from goalkeeper Ethan Anderson and Baxter Wright as the Admirals blanked the Dragons.
Anderson only needed to make two saves to earn the shutout for Severn.