Severna Park makes a national statement
The Falcons get a goal in second OT to beat nationally ranked Garrison Forest
In a matchup of private vs. public school field hockey champions nearly two years in the making, host Severna Park needed to wait a little bit longer Friday night to score a landmark victory.
After a wild back-and-forth contest, senior Delanie Abere fed junior Ava Drexler-Amey with 44.3 seconds left in sudden-death double overtime, giving the No. 3 Falcons, the 2019 Class 4A state champions, a 2-1 win over top-ranked Garrison Forest, the 2019
Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference champs and No. 13 team in the nation according to MAX Field Hockey.
“I cannot give Garrison Forest enough credit. That was one of the best field hockey games I’ ve ever seen at the high school level ,” Severna Park coach Shannon Garden said. “Both teams are skilled, both teams have strategy, It was a really, really fun battle. Did we pull it out in double overtime? Yes, but I think every player on that field was tired. The ball just bounced our way in the end.”
That bounce happened after more than 79 minutes of play, in which Garrison (1-1) fell behind early before tying the game on as hot by star midfielder Dani Mendez-Trend lero ff a corner midway through the third quarter.
The Grizzlies, however, suffered a major blow just minutes later, when Mendez-Tr end lerw as forced to leave the game after getting hit in the cheek with a hard shot with 6:42 left in regulation. The absence of Mendez-Trendler, ranked as one of the top 10 seniors in the nation by MAX Field Hockey, took away Garrison’s top go-to option on offense.
Severna Park (1-0), ranked No. 24 in the nation, took advantage, coming close to scoringseveral times, but each time being thwarted by standout junior goa lie Alyssa Kl ebasko.
The Falcons needed double-overtime to finally break through. Abere, standing out front, drew in Klebasko, then pushed the ball to Dr ex le r-Amey, who scored into an exposed cage.
“We battled the whole entire game. We really just put it all on the field, and it was every single person on the team that made that happen,” Abere said.
“She slipped it back, and I sent it in,” Drexler-Amey said. “Everyone on this team wanted it. The sidelines, the intensity and the cheering all helped everyone on that field. We won it, and that was the outcome we wanted.”
The teams originally had been scheduled to meet last September, but were unable to play because of COVID-19. Garrison Forest played just two games last fall, while Severn a Park played six in the spring, treating them as glorified scrimmages.
“My girls are very resilient,” Garden said. “No matter what’s thrown at us, we keep working hard.”