Eagles score eight goals in a row, win 128th straight game
McDonogh girls lacrosse coach Chris Robinson wasn’t surprised his team had heavy legs heading into an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference showdown with No. 11 Severn on Tuesday.
The Eagles were playing their third game in four days against a nationally regarded program, but No. 1 McDonogh shook off the slow start and scored eight straight goals midway through the game to pull away for a 16-9 victory in Owings Mills.
Olivia Jenner had five goals and an assist, and Catie May scored four with an assist. The Eagles (16-0 overall, 10-0 IAAM) extended their national-record winning streak to 128 games while playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation. McDonogh handed No. 3 Mount Hebron its first loss of the season Saturday and beat host Good Counsel on Monday.
“It was a brutal stretch for us against some highly ranked opponents,” Robinson said. “It was a great test. Severn always gives us fits. I am really happy with what our kids did today.”
Caroline Steele, a Maryland recruit, finished with four goals, while Allison Hall and Tess Bradshaw each scored twice for Severn (9-5 overall, 6-4 IAAM).
The Admirals jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Regan Leavitt and Hall in the opening two minutes. Jenner and May responded for McDonogh, and the game was tied with 19 minutes, 10 seconds left in the opening half.
From there, the teams traded goals as Severn did an effective job pressuring the ball so the Eagles had little time to set their offense. A goal by Elizabeth George provided a 6-5 lead with 6:54 left in the half and that was the spark McDonogh needed to pull away.
The Eagles then scored seven more goals in a row to put the game out of reach. Jenner had a pair of goals over that stretch, and McDonogh converted all three of its man-advantage opportunities.
“Overall, this was a hard week for us having three games almost in a row,” said Jenner, who has committed to Duke. “We came out initially a little flat because of the previous games we had. But they were a great opponent.”
Hall and Steele scored less than a minute apart to pull Severn to within 13-7 with 10:41 remaining. But again the Eagles had an answer as Blair Kessler and Jenner scored unassisted goals to maintain a comfortable lead, and Severn did not threaten the rest of the way.
“We had our moments,” Severn coach Renie Sotiropoulos said. “They’re a great team. With the depth they have, they were able to make a couple of runs that we couldn’t match.”