Saints make most of 2nd chance

It’s not too often a team gets a chance to atone for a loss to a rival so quickly.

In the case of the St. Mary’s field hockey team, it was given another chance on Thursday after falling to rival Severn nine days ago.

With the stakes much higher this time, the Saints controlled the game from the start and defeated Severn, 4-1, in an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference semifinal.

St. Mary’s (13-3-1) advances to the conference championship game on Sunday against Mount de Sales at Archbishop Spalding. The Saints are aiming for their first IAAM title.

“We prepared, we watched film, we anticipated. We played our game today,” St. Mary’s coach Kaitlyn Marsh said. “Every time we play them, I feel like we haven’t played our game, which is small game. It really was successful today.”

Alexis Tackney started the scoring for the Saints and finished with a goal and an assist. Molly McAteer, who played a strong game on defense, scored a goal on a penalty corner in the first half and added a defensive save for the Saints, who led 2-0 at the half and scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

“I think we just came into this game knowing it was going to be a tough one,” McAteer said. “We watched the film and remembered how they played and I think we just marked the key players they have and played our game.”

Spira Rosseau and Kaitlyn Panebianco each added goals for St. Mary’s, which moved down to the B Conference this year after winning just a combined four games in the A Conference the last two years. The Saints lost just two games and tied another this year in the B Conference.

St. Mary’s was the only team to defeat Mount de Sales in conference play this year. The teams split their two regularseason meetings.

“This is an amazing year and a great senior year for me,” McAteer said. “Going into this game, we just need to stay focused. We know they’re beatable, we beat them the first time and lost the second time. We know what to expect, and I think we know how to beat them.”

Hope Davis added an assist and a defensive save, Abigail O’Malley had a defensive save and Reagan O’Toole stopped seven shots—including three in succession on a penalty corner early in the second half—for the Saints.

“Our girls connected in a way they have not this season,” Marsh said. “I think we saw a championship team today. All the things we have been working on in practice really clicked. I think their energy and drive to win are just out of this world right now.”

Sydney Kirchenheiter scored a late goal for the Admirals, who will graduate nine seniors following a season where they increased their win total from last year and advanced to the conference semifinals for the second straight year.

“Every one of them has been dear to this team,” Severn coach Betz Wild said. “This is more than a team of hockey players. They’re a team of lifelong friends. They’re going to go on and do things, and hopefully we’ve set a great foundation for them.”