Unbeaten Blazers corner Cavaliers

Borzymowski scores twice as Notre Dame Prep makes good use of penalty corners

Archbishop Spalding needed fire and energy. It was the number one topic in every huddle, the rallying cry (“One, two, three, energy!”) as the Cavaliers jogged back out to the field. But it just wouldn’t come in time. Spalding (5-2) fired one goal too late and fell to IAAM A Conference rival Notre Dame Prep, 2-1, on Tuesday afternoon.

“I thought everybody gave a tremendous amount of effort,” Spalding coach Leslee Brady said. “Just realize you can’t let up for a second against a team like this … You can’t let up for a minute — you need to have that type of energy the entire 60 minutes of the game.”

The Blazers (5-0) set the tone just three minutes in, first by earning their first penalty corner and then by capitalizing on it.

“We just gave them too many corners. That’s where they score,” Brady said.

Notre Dame Prep senior forward Julia Kraft dished to senior Rachel Borzymowski, who flicked the ball past Spalding keeper Sophie Somerville for goal number one.

Spalding was in a deeper hole against the Blazers than they would be against most teams; Notre Dame Prep, by nature, allows very few goals, having blanked two straight teams already this season and given up only eight last fall.

Spalding spurred itself into action, led by sophomore Shelby Bumgarner, whose “lights out” stick-work, per her coach, seized the midfield for the Cavaliers.

As Notre Dame Prep’s Olivia Kenny tried to shoot another past Somerville, she made the save. The Cavaliers offense started picking the ball off the Blazers’ sticks, rather than hesitating a crucial second too long.

“It was kind of a little wake up. We’ve played them before; we know how good they are,” forward Margot Lawn said. “It was kind of a little kick in our butts to be like, ‘Alright, we can do this, it’s only a 1-0 game, we need to get our heads in this.’”

Spalding would even draw two penalty corners by half’s end, but would yield control to Notre Dame Prep’s Division I-bound weapons.

“I didn’t think we executed our corners very well today at all. It took us two or three just to get a shot on goal,” Brady said.

After half, the Cavaliers drew out the battle-plan: exploit the Blazers’ weaker right side. Dominate the ball. One-nothing, they said. It’s not a big deal. A minute into the second half, the Cavaliers earned a penalty corner, and though they missed goal, they took the shot.

Notre Dame Prep tripled it and earned three corners in three minutes, resulting in a second goal. Borzymowski took the pass from senior midfielder Nathalie Friedman and scored.

After the fourth Blazers corner, Spalding called time out.

Pressure was mounting — they had allowed not just one but two goals to a team that permitted few back.

The Cavaliers breathed in, and out. Then they stormed the field.

With less than seven minutes to go, sophomore Lily Grant rushed the ball on her stick toward goal. She cut to Lawn, who found a rare, split-second hole in the Blazer’s defense as defenders crowded her and fired — goal.

Notre Dame Prep outnumbered their guests on corners (10-4) and shots on goal (10-5).